The Worldwide Rig Count for December was 1,834, down 56 from the 1,890 counted in November 2022,and up 271, from the 1,563 counted in December 2021.

Brent was up $1.63, or 2.1%, to $79.47 a barrel, WTI gained $1.41, or 1.9%, to $74.25.

Russia said Dec. 28 it will ban crude supplies to countries that observe the G7's $60/b price cap from Feb. 1 for five months. The retaliatory move, which applies at all stages of supply to the final buyer, had been widely flagged by Russia and expected by the global oil market.

Dutch front-month futures, the European gas benchmark traded 2% higher at to €66.30 per megawatt-hour by 12 p.m. in Amsterdam. The UK equivalent contract also rose. German power for next month increased 2.3% to €166 per megawatt-hour.

Seaborg's design is for modular CMSR power barges that can produce between 200 MW and 800 MW of electricity, with an operational life of 24 years.

A frozen USA, with more than 200 million people under severe weather advisories or warnings caused nationwide problems in the run-up to Christmas.

Brent was up 22 cents, or 0.3%, at $84.14 a barrel, WTI gained 7 cents to $79.63.

Under the new policy - which describes nuclear power as "a power source that contributes to energy security and has a high decarbonisation effect" - Japan will maximise the use of existing reactors by restarting as many of them as possible and prolonging the operating life of aging ones beyond the current 60-year limit.

The deals come as Japan’s government is reevaluating how it can enhance energy security in the face of a fuel crunch at home. Global LNG supply is slated to remain tight for years, which threatens to increase import costs and add to rising inflation.

How will the 55 GW of generation from coal, gas, and nuclear be replaced during weeks of wind-still winter in mid-century Germany?