The trade of global fertilizer and ammonia faces intense pressure due to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz as diplomatic talks between the US and Iran remain uncertain. Rystad Energy’s 2025 trade mapping shows that the sale of 15% of global ammonia and 21% of urea, which is used as a high-nitrogen fertilizer, are tied to exporters potentially impacted by the closure. This includes leading producers Saudi Arabia and Qatar, followed by Kuwait, Bahrain, the UAE, Iran and Iraq. Our analysis predicts this sustained logistics shock…

Oil markets are closing March on a historic surge, with prices posting their biggest monthly gain ever after an unprecedented global supply shock. Gasoline Goes Galactic: Prices Jump, Diesel Spikes, and the White House Feels the Burn - Nationwide US gasoline prices topped $4 per gallon for the first time since August 2022, jumping to $4.018/USG as of March 31, raising domestic political risks for the Trump administration. - With gasoline now up by more than $1 per barrel since the US attack on Iran, prices keep on rising despite the White House’s…

Brent crude jumped to $118.2 per barrel on Tuesday while WTI sat at $102.5, leaving an unusually wide gap between the two benchmarks as the market reacted to fresh rhetoric around the Strait of Hormuz and the growing risk to fuel flows outside the United States. The apparent immediate trigger was a social media post from President Donald Trump urging countries struggling to secure jet fuel because of the Strait disruption to buy from the U.S. or go to the Strait and "take it" themselves. "...the U.S.A. won't be there to help you anymore, just like…

The United States is extending by a month through May 1, 2026, the deadline for potential buyers to negotiate buying the foreign assets of Russia's second-biggest oil producer, Lukoil, which the U.S. sanctioned in October to force Russia to negotiate peace in Ukraine. The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) authorized in a new general license negotiations of potential deals until May 1, provided that such agreements are approved by the OFAC in separate authorizations. Earlier this year, Lukoil announced it had agreed to sell…

US President Donald Trump has renewed his warning to Tehran to reach a deal to end the war soon and open the Strait of Hormuz, or he will order air strikes with the aim of "completely obliterating" Iran's oil export hub of Kharg Island, oil wells, and power plants. For the second day in a row, the US leader said a deal is likely at hand, but he also said in a social media post on March 30 that "if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached" US forces will react " by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants,…

Coal is back with a bang in Asia’s power generation, as countries scramble to contain the LNG supply shortage due to the war in the Middle East. Coal hasn’t really left most Asian economies, which rely on the fuel for much of their power generation. Amid the squeeze of natural gas supply due to the de facto closed Strait of Hormuz and the sky-rocketing LNG prices that few buyers in Asia can afford, nations are scrapping previous restraints to the use of coal-fired power generation. Developed economies like Japan and South Korea are…

REalloys (NASDAQ: ALOY) is assembling the only non-Chinese supply chain for a component powering nearly everything the modern economy runs on — but one that almost nobody outside the industry pays attention to. A single F-35 carries roughly 435 kilograms of these materials. MRI machines need them to power today's medical imaging. They’re in the guidance systems on missiles, the haptic feedback in your phone, the motors inside surgical robots, and the cooling systems that keep data centers running. Today, the rare earth magnet market…

Japan’s heavy dependence on imported energy is being put through a real-time stress test. The crisis triggered by the war in Iran and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has exposed the structural vulnerabilities in one of the world’s largest energy importers. With roughly 90% of its crude oil sourced from the Middle East, Tokyo has already moved to release around 80 million barrels from its strategic petroleum reserves – equivalent to roughly 26 days of domestic oil demand. This should be sufficient to stabilize the…

Every time energy prices spike, nuclear power makes a comeback in the debate. The argument is familiar. If Europe had more nuclear, it would be insulated from volatile gas markets. Prices would be stable. External shocks—from Hormuz to Ukraine—would matter less. There is truth in that. But only up to a point. And crucially, only under very specific conditions that are often ignored. Nuclear Works, If You Already Have It France is the obvious example. With a large nuclear fleet forming the backbone of its electricity system, France has…

The worst energy crisis in history is sending ripples across global markets, and optimism is in short supply. IEA’s chief said the current crisis is worse than all previous ones put together. JP Morgan analysts warned Asia is going to be hit the hardest, although other analysts see Europe as suffering the most from the fallout. And yet it seems the seriousness of the situation has yet to sink in. The European Central Bank’s president, Christine Lagarde, said in a recent interview with The Economist that the risks stemming from the U.S.…

For the third time in four years, Europe is waking up to discover that it has sleepwalked into yet another energy crisis." When Russia illegally invaded Ukraine in February of 2022, Europe was caught in an extremely compromised position, as it was dependent on Russian producers for 40 percent of its natural gas. When energy sanctions were slapped on the Kremlin, the impact on European energy markets was dire, with many families plunging into energy poverty. In the years since that crisis, European leaders have made efforts to diversify their energy…

Bangladesh has formally requested a temporary sanctions waiver from the United States to import roughly 600,000 metric tonnes of Russian diesel to cover two months of demand as its energy crisis intensifies, Reuters reported on Monday, with officials pointing to Washington’s recent 30-day waiver granted to India as precedent.  The move comes as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warns the Iran war is driving a global energy shock, with disrupted oil flows pushing up fuel costs, tightening financial conditions, and placing acute pressure…

Bangladesh has formally requested a temporary sanctions waiver from the United States to import roughly 600,000 metric tonnes of Russian diesel to cover two months of demand as its energy crisis intensifies, Reuters reported on Monday, with officials pointing to Washington’s recent 30-day waiver granted to India as precedent.  The move comes as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warns the Iran war is driving a global energy shock, with disrupted oil flows pushing up fuel costs, tightening financial conditions, and placing acute pressure…

A little-recognized consequence of soaring cocaine related lawlessness and bloodshed in the tiny South American country of Ecuador is a massive surge in hydrocarbon theft. This serious problem, long associated with Colombia, which is the world's largest cocaine producer, arose because of the tremendous profits that can be earned from stealing gasoline and diesel. Rising fuel prices along with heightened lawlessness are driving ever-higher levels of hydrocarbon theft, which even government crackdowns appear incapable of stopping. Not long after…

A Labour cabinet minister has pushed back against rallying calls for the government to hand petrol retailers some reprieve, stating there is “no need” to axe the planned hike in fuel duty. Education secretary Bridget Bridget Phillipson said on Sunday the government would “take a view closer to the time” on whether to press ahead with the controversial increase. The current main rate of fuel duty stands at 52.95p per litre, but includes a temporary 5p reduction introduced in 2022, which is scheduled to be reversed in stages…

Data center capital expenditure reached $770 billion in 2025, surpassing investments for upstream oil and gas activities in the same year. Solar PV investments, broadly acknowledged as the most substantial growth story in energy supply over the past 10 years, had already been eclipsed by data centers in 2024. This year, Rystad Energy expects investments in data centers to match investments in both the renewable generation industry, as well as the full oil and gas sector – which comprises the upstream, midstream, and downstream sectors. While…

Golden Pass LNG, a joint venture between QatarEnergy and ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM), has achieved first production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) at its first liquefaction train, marking the transition of the facility from a receiving terminal into a major export hub as a global energy crisis emerges out of the Iran conflict. Located in Sabine Pass, Texas, the three-train project will have a nominal capacity of approximately 18 million metric tons per annum (mtpa) when fully operational. The giant project is part of QatarEnergy’s broader strategy…

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Monday said that U.S. monetary policy is in a good place, and the Fed will wait and see how the ongoing Middle East conflict will impact the economy and inflation before taking further action on interest rates. Powell reiterated that it is "too soon to know" the long-term scope and duration of the war's economic effects, noting that geopolitical risks make the outlook uncertain. According to the Fed chair, energy shocks tend to be temporary, and raising interest rates immediately to combat inflation caused…

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Monday said that U.S. monetary policy is in a good place, and the Fed will wait and see how the ongoing Middle East conflict will impact the economy and inflation before taking further action on interest rates. Powell reiterated that it is "too soon to know" the long-term scope and duration of the war's economic effects, noting that geopolitical risks make the outlook uncertain. According to the Fed chair, energy shocks tend to be temporary, and raising interest rates immediately to combat inflation caused…

The ghosts of Baghdad and Kabul should be enough to silence any serious talk of sending American troops into Iran. Yet here we are again, with voices in Washington and Tel Aviv whispering that only boots on the ground can neutralize Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, its local allies and its regional mischief. They are wrong. An American invasion of Iran would be a strategic catastrophe, a moral failure and a self-inflicted wound from which the United States might never fully recover. First, the military and logistical reality is brutal.…