CERAWeek Day I: Fossil fuels rule?

The Oilholic is back in H-Town for CERAWeek 2025 to hear a succession of oil and gas bosses openly blast renewables, criticise the eonomics of the energy transition and big up the potential for natural gas on the event's first day. 

The language may more colourful than last year but the pattern of the dialogue remained the same.

For the Oilholic, the main differentiation point for Day I was Trump's top energy czar making his mark with Trumpian aplomb. 

Enter Chris Wright, the relatively new US Energy Secretary who emphatically declared: "There is simply no physical way that wind, solar and batteries could replace the myriad uses of natural gas. In particular, wind power had a singularly poor record of driving up prices."

In true Trumpian fashion, he also signed another export permit - for Delfin LNG - in front of the world's press at the media briefing room (see above). 

Here's more on in his colourful appearance at CERAWeek via your truly's report for Forbes, and here's even more on what the bosses of Saudi Aramco, Chevron, Shell, and Cheniere Energy said on the first day via a detailed roundup on Energy Connects.

As panel discussions gathered pace, CERAWeek's Agora technology and innovation program also got underway, duly visited by yours truly during the second half of the day. 

That's after listening to Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock who noted: "If you are a startup in the US and have a great idea, you can get capital / access to capital in the US real quick. That cannot be said of many other markets."

Emerging cleantech and breakthrough applications of artificial intelligence appeared to be all the rage here with loads of chatter in open forum events being held in "pods." 

Of course, along with the pods, came the hubs with some interesting perspectives on the energy transition, climate change mitigation and a showcase of emerging startups attempting to shake things up for another year running. 

And there were plenty of profound discussions on the global energy transition like Agora's Nexus enclosure, where noted Indian environmentalist Sunita Narain observed: "India's renewables March is an incredible story...Part of the trajectory is about not replacing but displacing coal which services much of the country's power demand." 

But that's all for now folks, more to follow over the course of the week. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

To follow The Oilholic on Twitter click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Forbes click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Motley Fool click here.

To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2025. Photo I: US Energy Secretary Chris Wright signs another export permit for Delfin LNG in front of the world's press at the CERAWeek media briefing room on Mar 10, 2025. Photo II: Indian environmentalist Sunita Narain addresses CW Agora program on Mar 11, 2025 © Gaurav Sharma 2025.

Checking out Vaeridion's electric 'microliner' concept

(Left to right: Ivor van Dartel, Founder and CEO of Vaeridion, Markus Kochs-Kämper, CTO of Vaeridion, and Gaurav Sharma, Energy Analyst, Oilholics Synonymous, at the startup's laboratory and engineering site in the Bosch Innovation Campus in Holzkirchen, Germany)

Late last month, the Oilholic headed out to the Bosch Innovation Campus in Holzkirchen, Germany, some 25 miles south of Munich, for a visit to green aviation startup Vaeridion's laboratory and engineering test site of its 'microliner' electric plane concept. 

The company is aiming to make to carbon-neutral electric powered flights the norm for short-haul travel; a niche but lucrative regional market currently serviced in many parts of the world by an ageing conventional fleet of aircraft.

Vaeridion's bold idea is a nine-seater electric plane with a range of 400km, deemed more than sufficient for short hops in a number of regional markets in Europe and beyond. Although the startup's founder and CEO Ivor van Dartel told yours truly his initial focus would be on Northern Europe (BeNeLux, the Nordics and Germany).

And what is it that van Dartel and the good folks at Vaeridion are attempting to put in the air dear readers? The Oilholic would say its brilliant, yet simple and here's how it goes. The electric power train would be supported by rechargeable high voltage batteries integrated in the plane's wing. 

The plane itself will run on a single propeller, but with multi-engine support of two mechanically and electrically segregated motors. 

The microliner will have a dual flight deck and can be operated by a single pilot. And unlike some in the sphere, Vaeridion's solution would be 100% electric. (See right, click to enlarge concept illustration.)

The idea has solid wings - no pun intended. Here's the Oilholic's recent feature on the startup for Forbes, wherein van Dartel has discussed his business plans for taking Vaeridion's microliner to market.

In a nutshell, test flights of the prototype are scheduled for 2027, and first delivery of the aircraft by 2030, with an ambition to produce and move up to 250 planes per year by / before the middle of the next decade.

To support this ambition, Vaeridion's has raised €14 million (£11.75 million, $15.20 million) in a recent funding round involving multiple prominent venture capital funds. They include World Fund and Vsquared Ventures, whose founding partner the Oilholic had the pleasure of meeting in Munich, and was revealed to be the startup's very first backer. 

The investors appear to be in it for the whole journey and Vaeridion is in talks to secure further capital. Especially, as van Dartel and his team are working on a green air mobility solution that will likely be among us by the end of the decade to fulfil a very specific potentially money making niche.

And when the Vaeridion microliner finally takes off, it would be the culmination of a long-held professional ambition of van Dartel's, who is a former Airbus engineer. "Electric air mobility has been on my mind since 2007, when sustainability wasn't even mainstream as it is today. The concept remained close to my heart and the spark stayed with me throughout my professional journey at Airbus."

In over a decade of service at the global aircraft manufacturer, van Dartel worked on Airbus' A380, A350 models, operations, manufacturing, special projects and ultimately became a generalist in 2017, before moving on to its defence and aerospace division in 2019.

Ultimately, he left Airbus in 2021 with the flame rekindled, armed with over 10 years of experience in complex projects, to launch Vaeridion. Today his 50-strong, and rapidly growing, team boasts of fellow dreamers from nearly 20 nationalities, some of whom joined his startup when it had no money or secured funding. 

Vaeridion appears to be on the cusp of making a difference, and attempting something that won't be easy by any means in an evolving, tough landscape of carbon-neutral air travel solutions. It remains to be seen how it will go for this aviation startup, but the Oilholic wishes Team Vaeridion well. 

With those final thoughts, its time to take your leave. More musings to follow soon - next stop Houston, for CERAWeek. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

To follow The Oilholic on Twitter click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Forbes click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Motley Fool click here.

To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2025. Photo I: (Left to right) Ivor van Dartel, Founder and CEO of Vaeridion, Markus Kochs-Kämper, CTO of Vaeridion, and Gaurav Sharma, Energy Analyst, Oilholics Synonymous, at the startup's laboratory and engineering site in the Bosch Innovation Campus in Holzkirchen, Germany. © Gaurav Sharma, February 2025. Photo II: Vaeridion's microliner electric aircraft concept. © Vaeridion, December 2024. 

Crude prices in tariff war zone as OPEC+ wakes up

Global crude oil markets have taken a bit of a double whammy. First off, US President Donald Trump - a.k.a (perhaps) Tariff Man - is back with... err ..tariffs! Canada, Mexico and China were all (again) in the firing line and (again) retaliated with tariffs of their own against the US. 

As global stock markets plunged, commodity prices took a knock, oil benchmarks slumped as well and then some more. That's because OPEC+ finally woke up to the reality of its production restraint propping up prices as well, as it continues to hemorrhage market share to non-OPEC producers. 

On Monday, with its production already at a one-year high, the producers' group finally decided it had had enough and would start phasing out its 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) voluntary production cut from April. This would be done via monthly increases of 138,000 bpd until the cuts are fully reversed by Q4 2026. 

For clarity, the eight OPEC+ countries - that previously announced these "additional voluntary adjustments" - include Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman. They were only intending to keep the cuts in place as an interim measure. But kept on rolling the cuts well beyond what they had originally proposed. 

However, overnight they provided a downside surprise to the market when many were expecting another rolling over of the cuts. Before news of the OPEC+ decision arrived, crude prices were already trending lower with Brent and WTI front-month contracts down 3.97% and 3.31% respectively, on the prior week. The double whammy knocked the benchmarks further lower with Brent breaking the $70 per barrel resistance barrier intraday. 

At 18:42 GMT on Wednesday, the Oilholic noted Brent down 2.55% or $1.81 to $69.12 per barrel, while the WTI was down 2.96% or $2.04 to $65.92 per barrel. All indications point to a bearish week at a time when macroeconomic scenarios ranging from uncertain Chinese demand to the threat of global trade wars point to lower crude prices. 

While Trump's moves are often unpredictable, it must be acknowledged that sooner or later OPEC+ would unwind its production. And, so, it has happened! More OPEC+ as well as non-OPEC+ crude may be expected over the near-term tariffs or no tariffs. 

Away from oil, but sticking with Trump, here are yours truly's thoughts in an interview with MarketWatch on Trump's plan to tap mineral wealth from Ukraine, and of course, at home and wherever else possible abroad. 

That's all for now folks, more to follow over the course of the month. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

To follow The Oilholic on Twitter click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Forbes click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Motley Fool click here.

To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2025. Photo: Photo: Oil production site. © jplenio / Pixabay, 2018. 

Media missives from India Energy Week 2025

With India Energy Week 2025 drawing to a close on February 14, the Oilholic capped a fascinating and engaging week out in Delhi by hosting pivotal industry panel sessions at the event on subjects ranging from bridging the energy transition's investment gaps to harnessing the power of shale oil and gas.

All blog entries for India Energy Week may be found here. Yours truly also provided insight to Energy Connects ahead of the event as detailed below: 

• India's oil demand growth offers abundant opportunities for global suppliers, February 4, 2025.

And here are selected Forbes copies in chronological order based on soundbites and insight from the event. 

• Is India’s Energy Sector Heading For A Big Investment Boom? January 28, 2024
• India’s Modi Renews Pledge Of 500 GW Green Energy Capacity By 2030, February 12, 2024
• Tough But Doable? Financing Net Zero May Require $4 Trillion By 2050, February 13, 2024
• India Won’t Clobber Consumers To Meet Climate Targets, Says Oil Minister, February 13, 2024

And that's a wrap for this year's India Energy Week. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

To follow The Oilholic on Twitter click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Forbes click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Motley Fool click here.

To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2025. Photo: Gaurav Sharma (far left)hosts a panel at India Energy Week 2025 © dmgevents, February 2025. 

IEW 2025 Days III & IV: India's quest for a gas economy

Over the course of Thursday and Friday - days III & IV - of India Energy Week 2025 that put us on the home stretch of the global event, conversations turned more meaningfully towards the Indian government's assertion of placing a 'gas economy' at the heart of its march to net zero by 2070. 

What many in the industry choose to describe as a 'bridging fuel', is a medium the Indian government, and indeed many others, appear comfortable in embracing to wean them off coal and help with a shift to more sustainable sources. 

In India's case, the country's Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri is leading the charge personally. Yours truly had the pleasure of reconnecting with the Minister and interviewing him for Forbes to discuss a host of energy related issues. Have a read here if you wish. 

In its collaborative transformation of the energy mix, the current Indian government is carefully examining the US shale revolution. Shale has already greatly changed the rules of international oil and gas trade and geopolitics, with the US making a significant shift from conventional to non-conventional oil and gas fields.

To this effect, the Oilholic hosted a Day III session titled "Harnessing the force of shale oil and gas in building future global energy systems."

Eminent panellists included Barnali Barua Tokhi, MD, Bharat PetroResources Ltd, Rahul Patel, MD and CEO, Transcontinental Energy Services, Trailukya Borgohain, Director (Operations), Oil India Ltd. 

The panel explored emerging concepts in exploration, extraction and distribution that have triggered a global shift in how untapped shale oil and gas resources are used, helping to fill energy supply gaps and change market dynamics. 

As it appears, the world’s remaining proven hydrocarbon reserves, 70% of oil and 45% of gas are considered unconventional. So, how they are tapped matter greatly. The panellists discussed how technological advances have now made many significant reservoirs of recoverable shale resources available to develop in multiple locations worldwide.

As the event neared its close on Day IV, focus also turned to STEM talent and process efficiencies achieved by the industry by deploying industrial AI. And, of course, to the deals that rained at the event as the great and the good of the global energy world queued up to ink agreements in India over the course of the week. 

Signature deals, among several moves, included BP's technical partnerships with EIL and ONGC, BPCL's agreement with Petrobras for 6 million barrels worth of exports to India, and, IOCL and ADNOC's long-term agreement for LNG up to 1.2 mmtpa from 2026 for 14 years.

And here are yours truly's thoughts via Forbes, based on conversations here, on climate finance and the trillions required if the world is to meet its net zero emissions targets. 

Finally, before bidding goodbye to Delhi, the Oilholic also took time out from the hustle and bustle of the conference to provide some analysis, and sum up the goings-on at the event to colleagues at Energy Connects. Watch this space when the good folks at EC publish the interview. 

It's been an immense pleasure and a privilege to attend and speak at India Energy Week for the very first time. But its now time to bid goodbye to India until next year. More thoughts soon. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

To follow The Oilholic on Twitter click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Forbes click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Motley Fool click here.

To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2025. Photo I: India Energy Week 2025. Photo II: Gaurav Sharma at IEW 2025. Photo III: Gaurav Sharma (left) at the Energy Connects studio in conversation with the media outlet's Editor-in-chief Chiranjib Sengupta at IEW 2025. © Gaurav Sharma 2025.