Let’s Talk Energy and tackle global emissions trends and what shifting attitudes could mean for trade and, ultimately, the climate. There may still be broad support for cutting emissions across companies and countries, both are increasingly prioritizing energy cost and security of supply over climate concerns. At the same time, we are seeing emissions assume a larger role in global trade, as countries use associated carbon or methane emissions as a factor in setting tariffs that also help protect domestic industries. 

How is the volume of global emissions evolving and what are the factors behind these trends? 

Are trade restrictions and tariffs tied to emissions sufficient to drive continued reductions, even if energy affordability and security eclipse climate concerns?  

Is the entire emissions measurement system in need of change, and what could that mean for the future of decarbonization?

Related Analysis 

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Carbon Market Report – 2025 Annual Review and 2026 Outlook (clients only) 

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A glimpse into energy in 2026, with Jarand Rystad 

Let’s Talk Energy is a Rystad Energy Production. 

Let’s Talk Energy and dissect China’s natural gas sector and its impact on global liquefied natural gas (LNG) trade. China is the world’s largest importer of LNG, but lately the country’s demand for imported gas has cooled. A weakening economy, the country’s push to develop domestic gas production and growing capacity in renewables, coal and nuclear power are all pushing LNG demand down. All of these factors complicate the outlook for natural gas in China’s future energy mix at a time when global gas markets are projected to flip into a surplus over the next few years, potentially putting downward pressure on prices.   

What is the 2026 outlook for China’s natural gas demand, and what impact will it have on global LNG markets?  

Is China’s drive to increase domestic natural gas production paying off, and how much more can they realistically produce? 

What is the long-term outlook for natural gas in China’s energy mix, including as a transport fuel? How is natural gas competing with other forms of energy, such as coal and renewables? 

Related Analysis 

Fueling a nation: China's 'Big Three' NOCs drive energy security and innovation (accessible for non-clients) 

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US tariffs and LNG: Do Trump’s levies help or hinder US LNG export growth? (clients only) 

China Gas Policy Report – 4Q 2025 (clients only) 

Gas & LNG Market Yearly Report 2025 (clients only) 

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What China’s oil stockpiling means for OPEC+, prices and global trade, with Lin Ye 

Let’s Talk Energy is a Rystad Energy Production. 

Let’s Talk Energy and drill down into the latest developments in the red-hot geothermal sector. Geothermal power generation has existed for more than 100 years, and the first large plants were built in places like New Zealand, the US and Japan in the 1960s. But the potential has always been limited by the unique geology needed to support conventional geothermal facilities, which rely on having both hot rocks and water in relatively close proximity to the surface. Now a new generation of geothermal developers is trying to expand the scope – and lower the costs – of generating power or heat from the Earth with a variety of novel approaches, including drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques developed by the US shale industry.  

• How has technology expanded the geography of geothermal energy, and what does that mean for its potential as a source of clean, firm power?  

• Can geothermal developers lower project costs enough to compete with other energy sources like a natural gas power plant or rapidly advancing small modular nuclear reactors?  

• What needs to happen for these new geothermal plants to move beyond being just a darling of datacenter developers to materially contributing to the global energy mix?  

Related Analysis  

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Heating up: Geothermal investment set for 20% annual rise through 2030 (accessible for non-clients) 

AI’s energy appetite takes center stage ahead of COP30 (accessible for non-clients) 

Geothermal energy in 2025: From niche to national strategic asset (clients only) 

Fervo’s Cape Station shows how shale practices can unlock faster EGS wells (clients only) 

Geothermal Trends Report – 4Q 2025 (clients only) 

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Next-gen nuclear and the rise of SMRs, with Carlos Torres Diaz and Natura Resources' Douglass Robison 

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Let’s Talk Energy is a Rystad Energy Production. 

Let’s Talk Energy and explore the rapidly advancing efforts to develop small modular nuclear reactors, or SMRs. Nuclear has captured the imagination of the private sector and policymakers alike for its ability to generate firm power – unlike variable renewable sources – with no emissions – unlike natural gas or coal. SMRs are being pitched as a way to overcome the cost and schedule overruns seen in conventional nuclear development in the West and help meet the growing needs of power grids and behind-the-grid users such as data centers. But – to date – SMRs have generated a lot of high hopes and hot air, with only a small handful of experimental facilities currently online anywhere in the world.

• Can SMRs really compete with renewables and fossil fuels to meet growing global power demand?                

• Will SMR developers solve the cost overruns and project delays that plague conventional nuclear projects in the West and deliver low-cost electrons on time and on budget? 

• Which countries are poised to win the SMR race and develop this new source of power as global competition for energy and digital dominance grows?   

Related Analysis: 

Expectations and realities: 12 predictions for the year ahead in energy (accessible for non-clients) 

Small-reactor technology helps kindle Nordic interest in new nuclear generation (clients only) 

Maturing technologies boost interest in small modular reactors (clients only) 

Can nuclear and geothermal supply clean, firm power for data center demand boom? (clients only) 

Ready, set, wait: US nuclear power's revival lags energy demand boom (clients only) 

Costs at the core: Technology is key for nuclear power capex efficiency (clients only) 

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A glimpse into energy in 2026, with Jarand Rystad 

Dawning of the next era of energy 

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Let’s Talk Energy is a Rystad Energy Production. 

Let’s Talk Energy and unpack a story that has been dominating the headlines – Venezuela. The US capture and extradition of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is the biggest energy story of the year to date and has analysts scrambling to evaluate the short and long-term impacts on oil markets. Venezuela’s production peaked above 3 million barrels per day in the late 1990s but fell steeply in the ensuing years as corruption and neglect pushed production to around a million barrels per day. A US naval blockade in recent weeks further cut the country’s crude exports. Venezuela claims the world’s largest oil reserves, but much of it is locked up in heavy crude that is difficult to get to market, making revitalization of the country’s oil industry a time-consuming and expensive proposition. 

Why does Venezuela have outsized importance in the global oil markets, and how could potential long-term US involvement in the country’s oil industry impact markets? 

How much money would it take for Venezuela to return to its lofty historical production, and who might be willing to invest? 

What are the geopolitical ramifications of the US reasserting its control over the Western Hemisphere for both China and OPEC+? 

Related Analysis: 

Venezuela’s long road back: Trump and Energy Report Flash Edition (accessible for non-clients) 

Trump and Energy Report – Flash Edition Venezuela (clients only) 

US-Venezuela crude deal conjures up long-term challenges for China (clients only) 

What it will take to bring Venezuela’s oil output back to 3 million bpd (clients only) 

Record high Venezuelan barrels on water set stage for trade realignment (clients only) 

How ‘uninvestable’ Is Venezuela, really? (clients only) 

Related Episodes: 

Supply, demand and geopolitics: Oil markets in 2026 with Janiv Shah and General Index's Corey Stewart 

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The looming oil supply challenge with Artem Abramov 

Let’s Talk Energy is a Rystad Energy Production. 

Let’s Talk Energy and dive into the global oil market to understand how supply, demand and geopolitics could influence prices for the most important traded commodity in the world. Forecasters almost universally agree that crude markets are likely to face a significant oversupply in the months ahead as growth in oil production outpaces growth in demand. But, while prices for benchmark Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) have certainly drifted down in recent months, both prices and balances proved more resilient into the end of 2025 than many expected and are continuing to hold up in the early days of 2026.  

How much extra oil might be sloshing around in the global market, and will it necessarily trickle down to the prices consumers pay for fuel? 

Will geopolitical turbulence, including the US arrest of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, outweigh the fundamentals to support higher-than-expected oil prices?  If prices do fall further, how might key producers such as OPEC+ and US shale players react? 

Related Analysis  

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Expectations and realities: 12 predictions for the year ahead in energy (accessible for non-clients) 

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What it will take to bring Venezuela’s oil output back to 3 million bpd (clients only) 

In 2026, energy importers will benefit from lower prices (clients only) 

Navigator Alert: OPEC+8 pauses again as geopolitical uncertainty builds (clients only) 

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Let’s Talk Energy is a Rystad Energy Production. 

We launched Let’s Talk Energy in August with the simple – but often challenging – goal of telling the most important global energy stories in a way that is entertaining and easy to understand, without oversimplifying complex issues. Since our launch, you’ve watched more than 15,000 hours of Let’s Talk Energy on YouTube, and 1,300 of you subscribe to get our video episodes each week. Our episodes have been downloaded on Spotify and Apple Podcasts more than 9,000 times. We appreciate each and every listen, watch and download. In 2026, we’ll up our game with more special guests and in-person recordings as we try to keep pace with the rapidly evolving energy landscape.

We’re taking a break over the holidays to recharge our collective batteries, so the next new episode will hit your feed on 14 January 2026. While we’re gone, have a look through our archive to catch up on any episodes you might have missed, and we’ll be back to talk energy with you in 2026!

Related Analysis  

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Supply chain review 2025: Protectionism and market turmoil (clients only)  

Oil, geopolitics and 2025: The ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ Year (clients only) 

Middle East: Supply reset, gas growth and geopolitics set stage for 2026 (clients only) 

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Let’s Talk Energy, dust off our crystal ball and gaze ahead to the biggest energy stories of 2026. The year ahead is shaping up to be one of energy abundance. Ample global energy supplies could broadly lead to lower prices, but midstream and market bottlenecks, as well as broader shifts in the energy investment cycle, could open opportunities for companies to capture value. But geopolitics will once again be a wildcard, creating risks both to the upside and the downside for the energy industry. 

How will companies and countries navigate oil, natural gas and power markets that are forecast to be significantly oversupplied through the year ahead?

Could 2026 be a pivotal year for the energy transition, despite worries about waning climate ambition globally?

Will geopolitics inject even more unpredictability into an already tumultuous energy landscape?

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US shale braces for next consolidation wave as smaller players seek scale (accessible for non-clients)

Oil, geopolitics and 2025: The ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ Year (clients only)

Europe R&P 2025: BESS additions surpass onshore wind, solar PV drops (clients only)

How does Rystad Energy compare with the IEA World Energy Outlook 2025? (clients only)

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Let’s Talk Energy is a Rystad Energy Production.

Let’s Talk Energy and dig into a hot new source of US natural gas production that could help meet the country’s rising domestic demand and fuel the growing LNG export business - the Western Haynesville. 

While the Haynesville Shale will be familiar to many in the industry, having been among the top US gas-producing areas for more than a decade, the Western Haynesville is a new place geographically, and covers new ground geologically as well. 

With a long queue of new LNG export facilities moving ahead in the US, there is a growing buzz that companies exploring the Western Haynesville could be in the right place at exactly the right time to capitalize on this additional demand. 

But first they will have to push the boundaries of technology to cut costs and prove the performance of these expensive and technically challenging wells can be repeated hundreds or even thousands of times. 

How has the Western Haynesville evolved, and which companies are actively exploring in the area? 

What questions remain about the play, and how can it become a commercial success? 

What do these developments tell us about the state of US onshore exploration today? Are continued shale production gains expected, and will they help meet domestic and global demand? 

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Eye-popping West Haynesville wells still need over $4 gas to break even (clients only) 

Is there a new emerging gas play in Texas? (clients only)  

Western Haynesville_Bossier Shale, US Supply Chain Factsheet (clients only)  

North America Gas Market Report – November 2025 (clients only)  

North American LNG: Contracting jumps but each FID makes the next tougher (clients only)  

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Let’s Talk Energy is a Rystad Energy Production. 

Let’s Talk Energy and dive into the North Sea, the epicenter of Europe’s energy industry. Since the first discovery of oil and gas at Ekofisk off Norway in 1969, the basin has provided Europe with its largest volumes of domestic hydrocarbons. Although fossil fuel production has peaked in the region, the North Sea has become a leading frontier for the development of offshore wind. Now, the strategic value of the basin's energy production has grown since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing price volatility from Europe’s push to kick its dependence on Russian oil and gas.  

What is the outlook for both fossil fuel and renewable energy production in the North Sea?  

What do companies need to do to ensure projects are globally competitive?  

How should we think about North Sea production for the countries that share it, and for the broader European continent in an age of growing worries about energy security?  

Related Analysis

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Divest, merge or decommission: The dilemma facing high-opex UK producers (clients only)  

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European power markets at a turning point, with Iben Frimann-Dahl and Francesca Bjørnflaten 

Let’s Talk Energy is a Rystad Energy Production.