Media missives from Abu Dhabi Infrastructure Summit

With the inaugural Abu Dhabi Infrastructure Summit drawing to a close on June 18, the Oilholic enjoyed an engaging week out in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

 

An action-packed two days included insightful fireside chats, panel discussions, and wider engagements on international collaboration in the infrastructure space. 

All of The Oilholic's blog entries for Abu Dhabi Infrastructure Summit may be found here. 

Yours truly also provided insights for Forbes from the event as detailed below:

• Embed Sustainability And Resilience Into Infrastructure, Experts Say, June 18, 2025
• Where Do Sustainability And Affordability Sit In The Pursuit Of Smart Cities?, June 20, 2025

Well that's all for the moment folks! More musings to follow soon. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

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To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2025. Photo I: Abu Dhabi Infrastructure Summit plenary stage © Gaurav Sharma, June 2025. © Gaurav Sharma, June 2025.

Striving for smart, sustainable cities & urban excellence

On Wednesday, the second and final day of the Abu Dhabi Infrastructure Summit, over 4,000 attendees visited the exhibition and conference. 

They included royalty as the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan joined the crowds. He met exhibitors, officials and visitors alike during his visit. 

The Crown Prince also stressed on the vital importance of leveraging advanced technologies in urban planning to ensure the long-term sustainability of infrastructure that meets the aspirations of current and future generations and enhances societal wellbeing, by investing in integrated, future-ready infrastructure, including facilities powered by artificial intelligence and other smart solutions. 

Of course, the pursuit of urban excellence is a moving target with diverse global contexts. Abu Dhabi’s ambition to redefine urban living through world-class infrastructure and quality of life enhancements finds resonance in the transformative strategies of pioneering global cities.

That was the subject matter of the second panel at the summit moderated by The Oilholic at ADIS. The panelists included Daniel Liu, Executive Director of MORROW Intelligence, Emre Arolat, Founding Partner and Principal at Emre Arolat Architecture, Greg Bargull, Executive Director of Development at Modon and Asma Aljassmi, Executive Director of Projects Control and Operations at Aldar Projects. 

We discussed how successful urban centers worldwide are redefining city planning through context-specific innovations that balance economic growth with human-centric design. 

From Singapore’s holistic balance of economic growth, environmental sustainability, and social inclusivity to Chongqing’s technology and sustainability integration, Copenhagen’s Nordhavn district’s 5-Minute City model, and Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City balancing sustainability, heritage and innovation - the world’s most innovative cities promote a strong sense of place and identity for their residents and community said the panelists.

They also offered pragmatic insights on the challenges and opportunities along the route toward urban excellence, and learning as much from the mistakes of others as their successes, whilst keeping sustainability and energy efficiency almost always in sharp focus. 

And on that note, it's a wrap from the inaugural ADIS folks! More musings to follow soon. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

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To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2025. Photo I: Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (right) visits the exhibition at the Abu Dhabi Infrastructure Summit © Abu Dhabi Media Office, June 2025. Photo II: Energy analyst Gaurav Sharma (left) moderates a panel at the Abu Dhabi Infrastructure Summit. © ADIS, June 2025.

Discussing collaboration on infrastructural resilience

Formal proceedings got underway at the Abu Dhabi Infrastructure Summit on Tuesday. The inaugural edition of the event combined a conference programme and exhibition featuring keynotes, panels and roundtables spread over two days.

Maysarah Mahmoud Salim Eid, Director General of Abu Dhabi Projects and Infrastructure Centre (ADPIC) - the mandated agency that manages government capital projects in the Emirate, alongside overseeing infrastructure project implementation and delivery - kicked things off with a keynote emphasising the need for strategic investment in infrastructure, and flagging the drive Abu Dhabi itself has embarked upon with the Emirate’s AED 200 billion (£41 billion, $54 billion) infrastructure pipeline, and 600-plus projects. 

What that level of investment and ambition has done is put Abu Dhabi prominently on the map for global infrastructure collaboration. It also reflects a strategic alignment of regional priorities and international best practices. 

As the Emirate accelerates the adoption of its Economic Vision 2030, cross-sector partnerships will be critical for fostering inclusive growth and address complex urban challenges including sustainable housing and smart mobility. 

Much of this came into sharp focus as the day progressed with plenty of chatter on how the world's major urban centres were approaching the challenge of infrastructural resilience, including via deploying public private partnerships (PPPs) to mixed degrees of success. 

Here's the Oilholic's report for Forbes from the event on the subject. 

For its part, Abu Dhabi’s infrastructure strategy centers on securing supply chains, enhancing climate resilience, establishing conformity standards and quality control, and fortifying digital connectivity, which it appears to be doing perhaps way better than most. 

Yours truly also partook in the first day's proceedings and moderated a session on global collaboration to bring about transformative infrastructural development. 

The panelists included Carlos Wakim, CEO of Bloom Holding, Mounir Haidar, Managing Partner of LEAD Development, Fuat Kasimcan, Secretary General of Turkish Contractors Association, and Abdulaziz Alobaidli, Chief Operating Officer of Masdar. Over the course of an insightful discussion, we discussed how Abu Dhabi was offering several case studies for the world's major cities to take their cue from, and the role, advantages and pitfalls of PPPs in the region, and beyond. 

We also discussed what role technology, especially AI, can play in solutions for smart cities, alongside the criticality of foreign direct investment in infrastructure in multiple geographies to foster collaboration, as well as the need for grid resilience to ensure the power demands of burgeoning urban centres are serviced without outages. All-in-all, a great discussion. 

Once the first day's proceedings had concluded, invited delegates headed over the event's Gala Dinner in the evening, attended by distinguished guests from around the world who were welcomed to the summit, the dinner and indeed to Abu Dhabi once again by ADPIC Director General Maysarah Mahmoud Salim Eid.

The ADPIC DG also commended the strength of the dialogues at the event and the global mix of the attendees on the first day before the evening's entertainment and festivities commenced. 

Well that's all for the moment folks ahead of a content packed second day at ADIS! More musings to follow soon. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

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To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2025. Photo I: Abu Dhabi Infrastructure Summit signage © Gaurav Sharma, June 2025. Photo II & III: Energy analyst Gaurav Sharma moderates a panel at the Abu Dhabi Infrastructure Summit. © ADIS, June 2025. Photo IV: Maysarah Mahmoud Salim Eid, Director General of Abu Dhabi Projects and Infrastructure Centre address ADIS gala dinner attendees © Gaurav Sharma, June 2025.

Speaking at Abu Dhabi Infrastructure Summit

Delighted to announce that yours truly will be speaking and moderating panels at the Abu Dhabi Infrastructure Summit. The theme for the event - due to be held in Abu Dhabi, UAE from June 17 to 18, 2025 - is "Future cities: Rethinking infrastructure for better lifestyles." Explore the event's wide-ranging agenda here. 

ADIS' inaugural edition combines a conference and exhibition featuring keynotes, panels, and round tables with global senior leaders from the infrastructure and construction sector.

Topics will emphasise advancing construction and infrastructure innovations, driving technological excellence, facilitating partnerships, and redefining urban landscapes to shape the cities of the future sustainably. For more information on yours truly's panels click here, and to register to attend click here. 

The Oilholic is really looking forward to the deliberations, meeting thought leaders and friends. Join, if you can, for some fantastic industry exchanges and networking in Abu Dhabi. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

To follow The Oilholic on Twitter click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Forbes click here.

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To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2025. Photo: Speaker profile of Gaurav Sharma for Abu Dhabi Infrastructure Summit © ADIS, June 2025. 

Speaking and moderating at Emerson Exchange 2025

Delighted to announce that yours truly has partnered with global technology, engineering and industrial software giant Emerson to speak and moderate at the company's upcoming thought leadership event - Emerson Exchange 2025. 

This year's theme for the event - due to be held in San Antonio, Texas, US, from May 19 to 22, 2025 - is "accelerating innovation." Explore its groundbreaking agenda here.

The event aspires to empower change in the sphere of industrial automation by exploring advanced technologies, strategies, collaborative approaches and best practices. To attend, register here: 

Really looking forward to the deliberations, meeting thought leaders and friends. Join, if you can, for some fantastic industry exchanges and networking in San Antonio.

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: Speaker profile of Gaurav Sharma for Emerson Exchange 2025 © Emerson / Emerson Exchange, May 2025. 

Media missives from CERAWeek 2025

With CERAWeek 2025 by S&P Global drawing to a close on March 14, the Oilholic capped a fascinating and engaging week out in Houston by having insightful 1-on-1 discussions, panel chats and wider interactions on the global energy mix and where it is heading to. 

All blog entries for CERAWeek may be found here. Yours truly also provided insight to Energy Connects and Forbes throughout the event as detailed below. 

First off, here are one's daily observations for Energy Connects on the first three days of the event:

• US Energy Secretary and oil industry leaders call for a realistic approach to the energy transition, March 11, 2025.
• Energy leaders call the US a prime investment market, March 12, 2025.
• Leading cross-sector executives pledge to triple global nuclear capacity by 2030, March 13, 2025.

And secondly, here go all observations, interactions and interviews from CERAWeek for Forbes:

• U.S. Energy Secretary Blasts Renewables, Vows To Support Oil And Gas, March 10, 2025.
• Guyana’s Buoyant Oil Exports Find Eager Buyers In Europe, March 12, 2025.
• Activist Investor Drives BP To Do ‘Fewer Things, With Higher Returns’, March 12, 2025.
• Practical Decarbonization Solutions Must Be Nurtured, Says MHI Group’s Green Solutions CEO, March 13, 2025.

And that's all for the moment folks. More musings to follow soon. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

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To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2025. Photo: Gaurav Sharma at CERAWeek 2025 © Gaurav Sharma 2025. 

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'! 

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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'! 

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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'! 

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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.

IEW 2025 Days I & II: Reimagining the future of energy

The first two days of India Energy Week or IEW 2025 have whizzed by with several aspects of the event's core theme - reimagining the future of energy in India and the world - discussed widely at various panel sessions and forums. 

The event was inaugurated on Tuesday by the country's Prime Minister Narendra Modi who noted in his opening remarks that India's wider energy sector ambitions would depend on "key five pillars" - namely "resource availability, a skilled workforce, economic strength, political stability, and strategic geography."

He also reiterated his pledge of more than doubling India's current renewable energy capacity from its current level to 500GW by 2030. Here's The Oilholic's full report for Forbes on the opening remarks. 

Following the Prime Minister's keynote, day I of the event also saw India's Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri note that the world's energy transition journey can never be a straight cut exercise in resource replacement; rather a nuanced resource utilisation journey reliant on diverse supply chains banking on both  renewable and traditional sources. 

The event also saw several energy ministers from Brazil to Qatar hobnob with their counterparts and delegates on the first day, indicative of the interest in India's energy sector. 

Among them, rather curiously, was UK's eco-zealot minister Ed Miliband who attempted to portray to a foreign audience that he actually cared about the North Sea calling his country a "proud oil and gas producer." But - with his policy actions implying the exact opposite - was widely and rightly ridiculed back home. 

The event's exhibition floor also opened its doors with over 70,000 visitors expected here over the course of the week. Two themes instantly caught this blogger's eye - "Make In India" pegged to domestic manufacturing and Green Hydrogen, an admirable firm favourite of Minister Puri. 

Yours truly also kicked into gear on Day II by moderating a leadership panel session titled "Bridging the energy transition's investment gaps." 

Eminent panelists included Bhupinder Singh Bhalla, Former Secretary of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Roberto Bocca, Head, Centre for Energy and Minerals, World Economic Forum, Hitesh Vaid, CFO of Cairn Oil and Gas, and Katan Hirachand, Chief Executive & Chief Country Officer - India, Societe Generale. (See below right for details, click on image to enlarge)

It was a fascinating discussion on climate finance acknowledging the complexities and opportunities of the energy transition and the mammoth task of underpinning global action by investment dollars,  trillions of which may be required according to some. Securing these would be the challenge of our age. 

Elsewhere on day II, other sessions touched on the reliable role of gas in the energy mix and discussed the familiar topic of technology as an efficiency enabler and facilitator of faster decarbonisation. 

Various aspects of India's energy ecosystem, its policy framework and investment drive were also examined, and how the global south could perhaps take some learnings from the country's approach over the last decade. That's all for now folks. There's plenty more to come from IEW 2025. So keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

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To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2025. Photo I: Yashobhoomi Convention Centre, Delhi, India - the venue of IEW 2025. Photo II: 'Make In India' display at the IEW 2025 exhibition. Photo III: Gaurav Sharma at the Indian government's green hydrogen booth. © Gaurav Sharma 2025. Photo IV: Detail of 'Bridging the energy transition's investment gap.' (Courtesy: dmgevents)

Getting ready for India Energy Week 2025

The Oilholic is delighted to be back in Delhi ahead of India Energy Week 2025 as the world's second-largest of crude oil importer and a leader in renewables opens its doors to the global energy community. 

The week-long event - being held from Feb 11 to 14, 2025 - will showcase India's energy sector and its potential. Yours truly would be speaking and moderating sessions at the event as advised last month.

The venue for India Energy Week happens to be the 100,000 square feet Yashobhoomi Convention Centre near the Indian capital's Indira Gandhi International airport. If you have been out and about town as this blogger has, you can't really miss the event's signage and the buzz created around it from fuel forecourts to shopping malls, transport terminals to state highways leading in to town. 

For background on India's energy sector, should you need it, here are this blogger's thoughts on investment opportunities in the Indian energy sector via a piece on Forbes, and its rising oil demand via a market assessment for Energy Connects. 

Looking forward to the deliberations, meeting thought leaders and friends over an exciting few days in the Indian capital. Join, if you can, for some fantastic industry exchanges and networking in New Delhi. More soon from here. But for now keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

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To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2025. Photo: Gaurav Sharma in front of India Energy Week 2025 signage in New Delhi, India.© Gaurav Sharma 2025

A visit to Metafuels SAF 'Aerobrew' lab and pilot plant

(Left to right: Leigh Hackett, Chairman of Metafuels, Marco Ranocchiari, Leader of Energy Systems Integration platform, Paul Scherrer Institute, Gaurav Sharma, Energy Analyst, Oilholics Synonymous, Saurabh Kapoor, CEO of Metafuels at the Aerobrew pilot plant and laboratory.)

Last month, the Oilholic headed out to the Paul Scherrer Institute in Würenlingen, Switzerland, to visit a laboratory and pilot site run by start-up firm Metafuels. It's attempting something that's a bit different in the sustainable aviation fuels space by producing its fuel via a methanol-to-jet fuel process. 

For context, you'd mostly find that e-sustainable aviation fuels or e-SAFs start-ups (i.e. those deploying renewable energy to produce synthetic fuel), do so by deploying the Fischer-Tropsch process. It involves sequential chemical reactions that convert a carbon monoxide and hydrogen mix, or synthetic gas ("syngas") into liquid hydrocarbons. 

But the team at Mefafuels led by two experts from the carbon capture and storage sphere - CEO Saurabh Kapoor and Chairman Leigh Hackett - is attempting something no other start-up known to yours truly is currently doing by viably deploying methanol synthesis to produce their SAF. 

Via their chosen method, methanol is synthesised from carbon monoxide and hydrogen at high pressure using catalysts made up of copper and zinc oxide. This too is a long-established process. But only recently have petrochemists managed to create pathways and additional steps for synthesising longer-chain hydrocarbons such as butylene, ethylene, propylene, and ultimately kerosene / jet fuel. 

Kapoor, Hackett, and a third co-founder Ulrich Koss, along with a team of a dozen people, believe they have come up with a methanol-to-jet fuel process that makes their e-SAF "economically viable" with fewer unwanted by-products and less waste compared to the routinely deployed Fischer-Tropsch process. 

In their laboratory, Metafuels demonstrated to the Oilholic that the synthesis works as they intend it to, and with the desired efficiency, to produce a jet fuel they've trademarked with a rather catchy name - Aerobrew. (See right)

Several members of the team, including Kapoor and Hackett, as well as designated officials from the Paul Scherrer Institute led by Marco Ranocchiari, spent an entire day with The Oilholic, explaining and demonstrating the viable path to upscaling their Aerobrew. 

Moving beyond the lab, Metafuels' demonstration plant with a production capacity of 50 litres is nearly complete which this blogger was also given a kind tour of. The plant will help Metafuels work on concepts for producing Aerobrew on a much larger scale. 

And speaking of scaling up the process, here's yours truly's feature on Metafuels for Forbes, which touches on the firm's plans for commercialising Aerobrew. The first step of this would an industrial-scale commercial plant with a capacity of 5000 litres, or hundred-times that of the pilot plant by 2028. 

The anticipated cost of production of 5,000 litres of Metafuels' e-SAF will likely be around 50% lower and the yield around 80% higher, according to the company. This is massive if achieved on a commercial scale. 

While The Oilholic can personally testify that Metafuels' offer is what it says on the tin, or shall we say an eagerly-awaited barrel of Aerobrew - the start-up is neither short of belief nor backers. 

Speaking of the latter, it has raised $22 million so far in funding via a diverse set of venture capital funds. 

At the time of writing, these include Celsius Industries, RockCreek, Fortescue Energy Ventures, Verve Ventures, Energy Impact Partners and Contrarian Ventures, as well as the Swiss Federal Office of Energy. The future looks promising for both Metafuels, and the demand for SAFs, especially in European aviation markets. 

So, it will be interesting to see where this goes, and the Oilholic intends to keep you posted when / where possible. With those final thoughts, it's time take your leave. More musings to follow soon. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

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To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2025. Photo I: The Oilholic with the Metafuels team at Aerobrew lab as captioned. Photo II: Metafuels SAF Aerobrew. Photo III: The Oilholic with the Metafuels team at Paul Scherrer Institute, Switzerland. © Gaurav Sharma, December 18, 2024. 

Speaking and moderating at India Energy Week 2025

Delighted to announce that yours truly will be moderating and speaking at India Energy Week 2025 due to be held in New Delhi, India from February 11 to 14, 2025. This global energy event aims to unite over 700+ exhibitors, 70,000+ energy professionals and 500+ speakers from across the globe. It will offer invaluable insights, thought leadership, foster collaboration among key stakeholders and accelerate progress on the sustainable energy agenda. 

Explore the event's groundbreaking agenda and register as a delegate here. 

Looking forward to the deliberations, meeting thought leaders and friends. Join, if you can, for some fantastic industry exchanges and networking in New Delhi.

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. Digital event banner courtesy of dmgevents, 2025.

"Drill Baby, Drill!" (Again)

What can only be described as the greatest political comeback in history was completed on Monday by Donald J. Trump as he returned to the White House as the 47th President of the United States. 

Destroying all premature political obituaries about him and opponents of descriptions, the Trump 2.0 era began with a familiar cry of "drill baby, drill" from the President, among other things. 

Drill the Americans will, and already are, pumping north of 13 million barrels per day of crude oil. Here's The Oilholic's Forbes piece on the day's 'crude' developments and how the President wants to tap into America's "liquid gold" to usher in a "a new golden era" for the country. 

As for the oil price itself, this blogger stands by what one told Reuters earlier during the day's trading session - the Trump administration will most likely go after Iran and Venezuela, with heightened sanctions on Russia already priced in oil market. 

This will likely keep the Brent front-month futures contract around $80 per barrel. However, the direction of travel from there will be dictated by emerging Trump policies, non-OPEC production, international trade wars (or not) and China's economy. 

That's all for the moment folks. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

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To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2025. Photo: US flag. © DWilliam / Pixabay, 2015. 

Oil spikes as US hikes sanctions on Russia & more

Happy New Year dear readers. Oil trading began on a much firmer footing this month, with Brent capping the $80 per barrel mark for the first time in three months on January 10. 

The global proxy benchmark has pretty much stayed near the mark in the couple of market sessions we have had since, as traders get their first quarter antennae up to gauge the direction of travel. And, of course, factor in recent news of heightened US sanctions on Russia's oil exports.

Many of the curbs target what's described as a "shadow fleet" of ageing non-Western oil tankers that carry Russia's oil. It has sent China and India - two of the biggest buyers of Moscow's black gold - scrambling for alternatives while they work out the situation. 

Extremely cold weather in the North Hemisphere, and an anticipation of tougher sanctions on Iran by an incoming Donald Trump administration are also providing an upside. However, wider market fundamentals have not shifted by much. 

The dollar remains relatively strong, lack of clarity on where China's demand may eventually go this year persists and there is still plenty of non-OPEC oil out in the market to meet global demand growth projections just north of 1 million barrels per day. 

Many are also factoring in higher US production levels in 2025. So the current firmness in Brent prices may prove to be short-lived. 

Away from the oil market, yours truly also discussed Central Europe's natural gas conundrum following Ukraine's new year's eve decision to end Russian energy transit via its territory on CGTN earlier this month. 

Basically, the old continent will need to find around 15 bcm of natural gas from elsewhere, which it can but at a considerably higher cost. (Full interview clip here).

Finally, switching tack to market related political developments, the year has begun with oil rich Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (finally) on his way out of office and an election on the horizon. Meanwhile, incoming US President Donald Trump has caused a stir revisiting his attempt to acquire the resource-rich and strategically important Arctic island of Greenland. 

We're barely a week away from Trump entering the White House with massive implications for the energy market and beyond. And on that note, its time to say goodbye for now. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

To follow The Oilholic on Twitter click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Forbes click here.

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To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

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

Speaking and moderating at GMIS 2024

The Oilholic is delighted to be back in Abu Dhabi, UAE for GMIS 2024, being held here on December 5 as part of the inaugural Abu Dhabi Business Week. Yours truly will be hosting one fireside chat and one panel session at the event with distinguished industry thought leaders. 

Please do join if you can for some fantastic and insightful industry dialogues. Here are the details of the sessions:

Thursday, December 5, 2024 @ 12:30 GST

Pioneering Resilience: Technology and Leadership in Industrial Safety

With: 

- Barbara Frei, Executive Vice President Industrial Automation, Schneider Electric

- Courtney Gregoire, Vice President and Chief Digital Safety Officer, Microsoft

(Click image to enlarge)

Thursday, December 5, 2024 @15:15 GST

Built to Endure: Resilience in High-Stakes Industries

With: 

- Amer J Siddiqi, Executive Director, Mubadala

- Hazeem Al Suwaidi, CEO, Borouge

- Eng. Hesham Awda, COO, NMDC Energy Offshore

(Click image to enlarge)

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 2024. Photo © GMIS 2024.