Columnists

Robin Mills

Robin Mills

CEO

Qamar Energy

Robin Mills graduated from Cambridge University and has worked for more than a decade in petroleum geology and economics for Shell and the Dubai government. He is the author of The Myth of the Oil Crisis (2008), and writes and comments regularly on energy issues in the media.

Robin Mills

Beyond the barrel: new strategies for coping with the energy crisis

For now, every day that the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, the world continues to lose about 11 million barrels per day of oil supply out of about 105 million bpd of demand. Also cut off are 20% of the world’s liquefied natural gas, some 40% of nitrogen-based fertiliser exports, 45% of sulphur exports, nearly 39% of helium, about 34% of methanol exports, from 9-15% of polymers, and 22% of non-Chinese aluminium production. Production of these energy-intensive commodities elsewhere will also be slashed by the loss of oil and gas feedstock. The best way to make this into a short-lived crisis is to plan for a long one, writes Robin Mills in his latest column for Energy Connects.

EC Clean Energy
Thought Leadership
Robin Mills

All eyes on Hormuz as Iran strikes put energy markets in uncharted waters

The Ayatollah is dead, but the danger to Gulf energy supplies has intensified. While the US and Israel pummel Iran, Iranian drones and missiles hit not just Israel, but its Gulf neighbours. So far, energy facilities are not in the cross-hairs – but how long can that last? Robin M. Mills analyses in his latest column for Energy Connects.

Oil Barrels
Thought Leadership
Robin Mills

The year in commodities: shiny metals, steady crude and a tale of two gas markets

Commodities had a good year in 2025. Despite the steady slide in oil, the broad asset class that includes everything from gold to grain and crude to copper overcame tariffs and wars to end more than 15 per cent up in the Bloomberg Commodity Index. One month in, and this year has already delivered plenty of news flow: metals should stay shiny, crude sludgy, while natural gas diverges, writes Robin Mills in his monthly column.

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Thought Leadership
Robin Mills

2026 outlook: how reliability and renewables can co-exist in the new energy map

There can be no energy security without climate security. Wild weather will hit offshore oil platforms and wind turbines, electricity cables and hydroelectric dams. Rising seas will flood petroleum refineries and nuclear power plants. Merciless heat waves will bring blackouts. But those who acknowledge the severity of the climate crisis still have genuine, well-founded concerns over the costs and risks of a very rapid shift to a low-carbon energy system, writes Robin M. Mills in his latest monthly column.

Sustainable and safe methods to improve predictive maintenance & reliability in plant and machinery with multimodal AI and IoT .jpg
Thought Leadership
Robin Mills

Weight-loss and the transition: four ways medical breakthroughs will impact the future of energy

Ozempic, Mounjaro and similar drugs have transformed weight-loss medicine. Expiry of patents in India, China and other big countries next year, and the development of similar drugs in pill-form, avoiding the need for injections, should make them much more affordable and convenient. Does this medical breakthrough also have potential for a leaner, fitter energy system?

Robin Mills 2
Thought Leadership
Robin Mills

Signal vs noise: unpacking the energy sector’s path to rising demand

“Tune out the noise, track the signal,” was the counsel of H.E. Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC Managing Director and Group CEO, to the ADIPEC conference in Abu Dhabi. The ever-expanding event was dominated by the talk of more: more energy needs, more oil and gas demand, and more AI.

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Thought Leadership
Robin Mills

Carbon capture and storage: essential technologies for a cleaner tomorrow

At the conference of Britain’s governing Labour Party in Liverpool last week, two protesters squeezed in a white elephant costume with “carbon capture and storage” written on it. Last month, Nature published a paper suggesting underground carbon dioxide storage capacity is much less than previously thought. These two happenings link a continuing hostility from environmentalists towards one of our key climate technologies.

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Thought Leadership
Robin Mills

Nuclear energy: the reliable, large-scale, and low-carbon answer to future demand

In his exclusive monthly column, Robin Mills, CEO of Qamar Energy, reflects on Hiroshima and how nuclear technology remains trapped between its origins as a weapon, rising geopolitical risks, and its growing potential as a vital, low-carbon energy source in the fight against climate change.

Nuclear Energy
Thought Leadership
Robin Mills

Explained: OPEC’s latest productions cuts and the road ahead for crude

In his exclusive monthly column, Robin M. Mills explains why OPEC+ is ending its voluntary oil production cuts earlier than planned, boosting supply as the group positions itself for a stronger market role despite upcoming challenges.

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Thought Leadership
Robin Mills

Hydrogen, CCS and nuclear technologies: why There Is No Alternative

TINA is not just a name: it is a slogan and an investment strategy. There Is No Alternative (TINA) is a guide when the options before us look unappetising but necessary. And the same applies to energy technologies, particularly the unloved quartet of nuclear power, carbon capture and storage (CCS), carbon dioxide removal, and hydrogen.

Hydrogen New
Thought Leadership

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