WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) today announced a renewed commitment to their longstanding partnership to support the research and development of a fission surface power system for use on the Moon and future NASA missions to Mars. A recently signed memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the agencies solidifies this collaboration and advances President Trump’s vision of American space superiority by deploying nuclear reactors on the Moon and in orbit, including the development of a lunar surface reactor by 2030. This effort ensures that the United States leads the world in space exploration and commerce.  “History shows that when American science and innovation come together, from the Manhattan Project to the Apollo Mission, our nation leads the world to reach new frontiers once thought impossible,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. “This agreement continues that legacy. Thanks to President Trump’s leadership and his America First Space Policy, the Department is proud to work with NASA and the commercial space industry on what will be one of the greatest technical achievements in the history of nuclear energy and space exploration.”    “Under President Trump’s national space policy, America is committed to returning to the Moon, building the infrastructure to stay, and making the investments required for the next giant leap to Mars and beyond,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. “Achieving this future requires harnessing nuclear power. This agreement enables closer collaboration between NASA and the Department of Energy to deliver the capabilities necessary to usher in the Golden Age of space exploration and discovery.” DOE and NASA anticipate deploying a fission surface power system capable of producing safe, efficient, and plentiful electrical power that will be able to operate for years without the need to refuel. The deployment of a lunar surface reactor will enable future sustained lunar

Oil climbed to the highest since late October after US President Donald Trump amped up rhetoric over Iran, heightening investor concerns about supply disruptions in OPEC’s fourth-biggest producer and possible American intervention. West Texas Intermediate futures rose by 2.8% to settle at $61.15 a barrel on Tuesday, reaching the highest level in over two months. Trump told reporters in Detroit that he thinks it’s a good idea if US citizens evacuate from Iran, and reiterated an earlier pledge that “help is on its way” to Iranian protesters amid the biggest challenge to the regime in the Islamic Republic since the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Traders are closely watching the political unrest in Iran and possible American intervention, which could threaten disruption to the country’s roughly 3.3 million barrels-per-day oil production. In a post on Truth Social, Trump urged Iranians to continue demonstrations, saying he had “cancelled all meetings” with the country’s officials. The death toll from ongoing protests may be in the thousands, activist groups said. Iran’s Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, in response to Trump, pledged to “defend the country with full force.” Oil has gained ground in the early new year, following a run of five monthly losses spurred by expectations for a glut. The climb has come amid US intervention in Venezuela, with Washington’s capture of leader Nicolas Maduro, followed by the worsening wave of unrest in Iran. The rally caught off guard an oil market that was steeped with bearish bets. Trump also said he would impose a 25% tariff on goods from countries “doing business” with Iran. “Geopolitical risk is at an all-time high,” Jeff Currie, chief strategy officer of energy pathways at Carlyle, said in a Bloomberg television interview. “That’s a recipe for a spike in prices now.” The developments in Iran have also compounded existing

An oil tanker seized by Iran two years ago was released, with satellite images showing the vessel off the coast of Oman, against a backdrop of mounting US pressure on the Persian Gulf state. The St Nikolas — seized in January 2024 in retaliation for what Iran called at the time the US “theft” of Iranian oil — was released on Jan. 9, its managers Empire Navigation Inc. said in a statement. The ship arrived near Oman on Jan. 10, they said.  The vessel was seen north of the Sohar anchorage off the coast of Oman, TankerTrackers.com Inc., which specializes in using satellite imagery and other tools to track vessels, said earlier.  Iran’s Foreign Ministry didn’t respond to phone and email requests for comment.  US President Donald Trump has threatened to intervene in Iran to stop a deadly state crackdown on protests that have rocked the country for the past two weeks and left at least 2,000 people dead, according to activists. Trump announced 25% tariffs late Monday on any country “doing business” with Tehran, hours after he said Iran had reached out for negotiations.  Empire said the crew are in good health and that the ship’s satellite tracking system has been reconnected, though it’s inoperable.  WHAT DO YOU THINK? Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.

(Update) January 13, 2026, 4:29 PM GMT: Article updated with Kazakh, Chevron, Delta Tankers statements throughout. Two oil tankers were attacked near the Black Sea loading terminal for the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, the latest significant incident complicating Kazakhstan’s crude exports. The two ships — the Delta Harmony and the Matilda — were due to load barrels from Kazakhstan at the CPC offshore mooring, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public. Managers for both ships confirmed the incidents and said their ships had sailed away from the area.  Prior to the attack, the vessels had moved away from the CPC facility, awaiting their turn to collect the cargoes, the person said. The extent of the damage to both ships wasn’t immediately clear.  The attacks risk further disrupting loadings at CPC, where planned shipments have already plunged due to bad winter weather and a mooring damage in a November drone strike. Those disruptions are helping dial back a significant surplus in the global oil market this quarter and have bolstered key futures prices.  At times last year, CPC exported as much as 1.7 million barrels a day of crude, but loadings in January are set to be between 800,000 and 900,000 barrels a day this month.  Kazakhstan’s energy ministry confirmed the incidents in a statement on Telegram. It said the Matilda suffered an explosion without a subsequent fire and no critical damages to its hull, while the Delta Harmony had a fire that was quickly put out, with no injuries to the crews of either vessel. The press office of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium declined to comment. Thenamaris, which manages Matilda, said its ship was struck by an unspecified number of drones while outside the CPC Terminal. It suffered minor damage to the

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday issued a final rule on nitrogen oxide standards for new gas-fired power plants and other stationary turbines. The standards are significantly more lenient than a proposal issued in November during the Biden administration. The EPA determined that the “best systems of emissions reduction,” or BSER, for NOx emissions is the continued use of combustion controls for all but one subcategory of new, modified or reconstructed turbines. The BSER for new large turbines with 12-month capacity factors over 45% is combustion controls combined with post-combustion selective catalytic reduction, or SCR. In November, the Biden EPA proposed finding that for most combustion turbines, the use of combustion controls plus SCR is the BSER. The EPA estimated its final new source performance standards for stationary combustion turbines will cut annual NOx emissions by up to 296 tons by 2032 — significantly less than the 2,659 tons the proposed rule was estimated to cut. The new standards cover facilities that started construction, modification or reconstruction after Dec. 13, 2024. The standards were last updated in 2006. NOx contributes to asthma, bronchitis, respiratory infections and premature mortality by reacting with other volatile organic compounds to form ozone and fine particulate matter, according to the EPA. The standards come amid a surge in proposed gas-fired power plants across the United States, in part driven by rising electric demand forecasts from data centers. The PJM Interconnection, for example, has approved about 8.1 GW of gas-fired capacity for fast-track interconnection review. The Midcontinent Independent System Operator has approved or is reviewing about 9.2 GW of gas-fired generation in its fast-track interconnection process and the Southwest Power Pool is studying about 9.6 GW of gas-fired capacity in its similar interconnection review. The EPA estimated that the final rule will save power plant owners $87 million

A “recovering” late January forecast “spur[red]…” the NYMEX gas “recovery” yesterday, Eli Rubin, an energy analyst at EBW Analytics Group, outlined in an EBW report sent to Rigzone by the EBW team on Tuesday. “The February contract netted a 24.0 cent gain yesterday – reversing Friday’s 23.8 cent decline – as weather forecasts swung back in a colder direction to close January,” Rubin said in the report. “Speculators rotating out of the heaviest short positioning in 13 months may amplify upside, while yesterday’s bounce reset short-term technicals in a bullish direction,” he added. “Today may be the mildest day nationally until late February. Week 2 could see weekly heating demand soar 53 gHDDs and more than 100 billion cubic feet as blowtorch weather flips colder,” he continued. “The Week 3 forecast added 15 gHDDs in the past 24 hours. Other meteorologists also point to chances for reloading cold risks in early February,” Rubin stated. Rubin went on to note in the report that daily LNG feedgas nominations “suggest a record high at 20.4 billion cubic feet per day”. He added, however, that “soaring storage surpluses to year-ago and five-year average levels, and likelihood that the market will manage the coldest days of winter next week without massive disruption, suggest the near-term relief rally may wobble and retreat in the most-likely scenario”. The EBW report highlighted that the February natural gas contract closed at $3.409 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) on Monday. It outlined that this marked a 7.6 percent increase from Friday’s close. In Tuesday’s report, EBW predicted a “test higher and relent” trend for the NYMEX front-month natural gas contract price over the next 7-10 days and a “rebound and retreat” trend over the next 30-45 days. In an EBW report sent to Rigzone on Monday by the