The worst oil and gas supply shock in history has exposed the vulnerability of dependence on fossil fuel imports and is making renewables popular again. As governments scramble to contain the fallout from the energy shock, both in supply and prices, increased electrification in transportation and power generation is once again the talk of the town. As the war in the Middle East laid bare the shock of losing oil and gas supply, policymakers and analysts are once again considering the benefits of fossil fuel importers boosting the share of renewable…

In the face of ongoing conflict in the Middle East and the resulting energy shortages, the International Energy Agency (IEA) is recommending that consumers reduce their energy consumption. This is expected to help people tackle their rising energy bills. Meanwhile, several governments are putting energy restrictions in place to mitigate the risk of shortages, with greater uncertainty around how long the conflict might last. The U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East have caused the biggest oil disruption in history,…

United States President Donald Trump will not stop in his efforts to quash offshore wind energy development, as he offers France’s TotalEnergies almost $1 billion to permanently halt its wind projects. The move follows more than a year of Trump badmouthing wind energy, cutting federal financial support for wind projects, and refocusing energy policy on fossil fuels. Wind contributes around 10 percent of U.S. energy at present, with wind capacity having grown rapidly following the introduction of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and other…

Europe has “sleepwalked into yet another energy crisis” watching energy prices spike across the continent for the second time in four years due to instability in global politics and energy trade. Four years after the Russian invasion of Ukraine sent global energy markets reeling, Europe has made significant progress weaning itself off of Russian oil and gas imports and building up its own energy supply chains. But the European Union still relies on imports for more than half of its energy needs, leaving it achingly vulnerable to the…

The global oil market has been on a rollercoaster since late February, but the price reaction to the largest supply disruption in history has been relatively muted. The calm was not complacency; buffers were there to absorb the shock. But the system that held for four weeks is no longer the system we are operating in today. The oil market did not underreact to the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz; it absorbed it. For nearly four weeks, markets have shown remarkable resilience in the face of disruption, supported by a combination of pre-war surplus,…

A sharp rise in oil prices tied to the US-Israel confrontation with Iran is likely to speed up the global transition to electric vehicles, strengthening a shift that has already helped China overtake Japan as the world’s top car seller, according to South China Morning Post. Crude prices have surged past $100 a barrel amid fears of disruption to energy supplies, particularly through the Strait of Hormuz. US President Donald Trump escalated tensions by warning he would “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if shipping through…

Russia’s oil exporters are warning buyers that cargoes from its key Baltic ports may not be delivered at all. Russian producers are now saying they may declare force majeure on cargoes from key Baltic Sea ports after a sustained wave of Ukrainian drone strikes knocked out critical infrastructure this week. The epicenter is Ust-Luga, one of Russia’s most important export terminals, where oil loadings have been halted since Wednesday following repeated strikes from Ukraine and a fire that, as of Friday, was still burning. Industry sources…

Aker BP’s 2025 Annual Report confirms what the market has been sensing for months: this was not a peak year—it was a transition year.Production held firm, costs remained low, and shareholder payouts continued. But weaker realized oil prices and impairments drove a sharp drop in earnings, even as the company doubled down on a capital-intensive growth pipeline aimed at the late 2020s. Production Holds, But Growth PausesAker BP delivered 420.1 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (mboepd) in 2025, landing at the top end of guidance.…

Aker BP’s 2025 Annual Report confirms what the market has been sensing for months: this was not a peak year—it was a transition year.Production held firm, costs remained low, and shareholder payouts continued. But weaker realized oil prices and impairments drove a sharp drop in earnings, even as the company doubled down on a capital-intensive growth pipeline aimed at the late 2020s. Production Holds, But Growth PausesAker BP delivered 420.1 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (mboepd) in 2025, landing at the top end of guidance.…

All the bombs dropped by the United States and Israel over the past four weeks on Iran have not disrupted a key trade route with Russia that both Tehran and Moscow rely on to help keep their respective war efforts going. And Azerbaijan, despite its strong ties to both the United States and Israel, has played a crucial role in keeping the route open. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk, in comments published by the Interfax news agency on March 25, said the “western branch” of the North-South trade corridor continued to operate…

The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States fell this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday, bringing the total rig count in the US to 543, down 49 from this same time last year. The number of active oil rigs fell by 5 to 409 during the latest reporting period, according to the data. This is 75 below this same time last year. The number of gas rigs fell by 4, sinking to 127, which is 24 more than this time last year. The miscellaneous rig count stayed the same at 7. The latest EIA data…

Serica Energy has urged the government to prioritise domestic production in the North Sea, as oil and gas supplies continued to be held in the Strait of Hormuz amid the Iran war in its latest annual results. Serica noted that confidence in the UK North Sea sector had been “eroded” and while the government has undertaken consultations, it is yet to be “translated into actions”. The company called on the government to approve the development of new oil and gas fields in order to reduce the risks of future oil and gas crises…

Asian refiners have started pricing their orders for U.S. crude oil against the ICE Brent benchmark instead of the typical pricing on Dubai crude, as the Middle Eastern benchmark has seen wild fluctuations amid choked physical supply from the Persian Gulf. Dubai crude prices soared last week to an all-time high of $169.75 per barrel, and were at $129.99 a barrel early on Friday. These highly volatile prices and the uncertainty about supply from the Middle East have prompted refiners in Asia to seek pricing against Brent, instead of the Dubai benchmark…

Oil markets are being driven by the standoff over the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran rejecting U.S. terms and delays in negotiations pushing Brent back above $110. Friday, March 27, 2026 The closure of the Hormuz Strait against Donald Trump’s hopes for constructive negotiations, such is the main price-defining relationship this week for oil markets. In a somewhat peculiar fashion, prices reacted immediately to Trump’s first 5-day deadline extension, however today’s 10-day postponement triggered a spike that sent ICE Brent above $110…

Russia's vital oil export loading ports on the Baltic Sea appeared to be on fire again early on Friday, as Moscow is not getting reprieve from Ukrainian drone attacks this week that aim to reduce its oil export capabilities and the benefits Russia is reaping from the soaring oil prices and its now-unsanctioned crude. The ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga were on fire early on Friday, Bloomberg reports, based on tracking NASA satellite images of the area that show the fires had likely started 3-12 hours before they were detected by NASA's Fire Information…

Russia's vital oil export loading ports on the Baltic Sea appeared to be on fire again early on Friday, as Moscow is not getting reprieve from Ukrainian drone attacks this week that aim to reduce its oil export capabilities and the benefits Russia is reaping from the soaring oil prices and its now-unsanctioned crude. The ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga were on fire early on Friday, Bloomberg reports, based on tracking NASA satellite images of the area that show the fires had likely started 3-12 hours before they were detected by NASA's Fire Information…

Caught in the crossfire of the United States and Israel's war with Iran, America's allies in the Persian Gulf face a stark choice: maintain their defensive posture or join the fight against the Islamic Republic. Iran has fired thousands of drones and missiles at US military and diplomatic facilities and damaged key energy infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait since the war began on February 28. By choking off the Strait of Hormuz, a major artery for global oil and gas supplies, Tehran has also…

Nearby WTI crude oil spent the week ending March 27 in a trader’s market, with headlines on U.S.-Iran diplomacy driving sharp intraday swings and keeping risk premium firmly tied to geopolitics. As of late Thursday, nearby WTI was trading at $94.30, down $3.93, or 4.00%, for the week. That weekly loss, however, hides the real story. Price action was violent in both directions as traders tried to price the odds of a ceasefire against the reality that the Strait of Hormuz remains the key chokepoint in the global oil system. Reuters reported…

Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict Governments moved again this week to release and build oil reserves as the supply shock from the Iran war deepened and the Strait of Hormuz remained constrained. Japan began releasing about one month of state-held crude, adding to earlier draws from private stockpiles, while the United States is already in the middle of one of its largest-ever Strategic Petroleum Reserve releases to contain price spikes. At the global level, the International Energy Agency confirmed that more than 400 million barrels are being…

If Trump’s push for a negotiated end to the war with Iran fails, there are few options that deliver immediate economic impact without expanding the fight inland. Seizing Kharg Island, Iran’s main offshore oil export terminal, is one of them. Trump has now paused strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure twice, to April 6, claiming it is intended as a window for negotiations that Tehran requested. He’s afraid to give away this leverage right now. At the same time, indirect communication is now confirmed, with Pakistan relaying…