Just as oil prices on the futures market slip again on hopes for a quick end to the war in the Middle East, the head of the International Energy Agency issued a warning: prices are going to go higher yet. “Prices are already high, but they are not reflecting the severity of the problem — I agree there is a disconnect,” Fatih Birol said at an event this week, as quoted by Bloomberg. “But I think soon we will see they will converge, which is an extremely sensitive issue for the global economy.” The war has so far cost…

Anticipating that US attention could be focused on Iran and the Persian Gulf for a long time, Armenia is seeking to attract additional investors in TRIPP, the planned trade corridor that Yerevan foresees as a cornerstone of its economic future. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan have indicated in recent days that the bilateral agreement between the US and Armenia on building TRIPP, or the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, is moving forward. But both leaders now indicate that Armenia wants to attract…

Extreme volatility in crude futures prices has eased in recent days, although the market reacted with an 8% jump early Monday to the news of failed U.S.-Iran talks and the beginning of a U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.  Traders continue to react to any signal of how the worst-ever disruption energy market would unfold, but with uncertainty still very high, oil market participants bet on and try to predict movements. The worst of the volatility may have passed, as investors and speculators appear to have exhausted their capacity to respond…

Equinor is dialling back its exposure to renewables, offloading a significant stake in Scatec ASA in a move that underscores a sharper focus on capital discipline and shareholder returns amid heightened energy market volatility. In an announcement early Tuesday, Equinor said it sold 8.07% of Scatec ASA at NOK 125 per share, generating gross proceeds of approximately NOK 1.6 billion ($150 million). Following the transaction, Equinor retains an 8.05% stake and has agreed to a 90-day lock-up on its remaining shares. Scatec confirmed the transaction…

Equinor is dialling back its exposure to renewables, offloading a significant stake in Scatec ASA in a move that underscores a sharper focus on capital discipline and shareholder returns amid heightened energy market volatility. In an announcement early Tuesday, Equinor said it sold 8.07% of Scatec ASA at NOK 125 per share, generating gross proceeds of approximately NOK 1.6 billion ($150 million). Following the transaction, Equinor retains an 8.05% stake and has agreed to a 90-day lock-up on its remaining shares. Scatec confirmed the transaction…

British voters want Rachel Reeves to cut taxes and reduce energy costs in order to focus on growth, as a majority of people felt the UK economy was “poor”, new research has shown. Polling by Freshwater Strategy for the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), a free market think tank, suggested that the vast majority of Brits wanted the Labour government to focus on economic growth more than it currently does.  The findings back up the Labour government’s primary mission, which is to grow the UK economy.  But respondents…

China saw its lithium battery exports jump by 50% in the first quarter from a year earlier as global demand for green technologies surged amid the worst disruption to oil and gas supply due to the war in the Middle East. Exports of all green technologies manufactured in China surged in March and in the first quarter, making Chinese clean energy manufacturers winners in the war-induced oil shock. China’s exports of lithium batteries soared by 50.4% between January and March, compared to the same quarter of 2025, Wang Jun, deputy director of…

Oil prices have dipped below $100 as weaker demand outlooks and a pause in U.S.–Iran tensions shift market focus to upcoming diplomatic talks and potential escalation risks. Calm Seas, High Stakes: Hormuz Traffic Crawls as Gulf Freight Costs Surge - The first days of the US blockade on vessels calling at Iranian ports have so far been largely uneventful as several Iran-linked tankers managed to sail through the Strait of Hormuz without any interference. - At the same time, most of tankers were moving into the Persian Gulf and so far only…

The Philippines, one of Southeast Asia’s biggest economy which is grappling with an energy crisis due to the Middle East supply shock, has asked the United States to extend the one-month waiver on purchases of Russian oil on tankers that expired on April 11.  “We are awaiting their response, but we are very positive on getting this other window,” the Philippines Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said on Tuesday, as quoted by Reuters. Last month, when oil prices hit a four-year high of $118 per barrel, the Trump Administration…

A US naval blockade on ships entering Iranian ports and coastal areas has come into effect, following failed peace talks between US and Iranian negotiators over the weekend. And it already poses a dilemma: risk attack from Iranian assets near the Strait of Hormuz or hold back and hope to catch vessels breaking out into the open seas. The move is the latest attempt by US President Donald Trump to force Iran into making concessions, including a commitment not to seek a nuclear weapon or the means to build one. It follows more than a month of air…

Iran may halt its own oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz for several days. Tehran is weighing a short-term pause to avoid testing the U.S. naval blockade just days before another round of ceasefire talks. The objective is to get through the next week without a maritime incident that derails negotiations before they start. Iran has been one of the only countries still moving crude through Hormuz during the conflict. Most non-Iranian shipping has already pulled back, with U.S. naval enforcement tightening the choke point. That leaves a thin…

Iran may halt its own oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz for several days. Tehran is weighing a short-term pause to avoid testing the U.S. naval blockade just days before another round of ceasefire talks. The objective is to get through the next week without a maritime incident that derails negotiations before they start. Iran has been one of the only countries still moving crude through Hormuz during the conflict. Most non-Iranian shipping has already pulled back, with U.S. naval enforcement tightening the choke point. That leaves a thin…

On March 9th, I wrote in an article for Oilprice.com titled “Why $100 Oil Isn’t Going to Spark a New Shale Boom.” My point, nine days into Operation Epic Fury, was that “No one—that I know—is carrying on much about the recent jump in prices, let alone cheering them on. Outside of thinking we'd better hedge, the response has mostly been a few words, a few shrugs, a ‘let’s take it while we can, attitude. Our collective reaction would surprise outsiders, but…was normal to me. It’s also normal…

The war in Iran has evolved into a global economic crisis, driving up energy prices and forcing major shifts in shipping and trade routes. Ongoing military strikes have caused significant disruptions at critical chokepoints like the Strait of Hormuz, forcing governments to urgently secure alternative supply sources and reevaluate supply chain resilience. Previously, we reported that the conflict has exposed Japan's vulnerability due to extreme energy dependency on Asian producers. Japan relies on the Middle East for over 90% of its crude oil and…

Global oil production has been slashed by as much as 11 million barrels daily amid the Middle East war. With the latest attempt at ending the hostilities failing, chances are the supply disruption will last a while, and then it would take months to restore production to its full size, even in the best-case scenario. “Even if there is a durable ceasefire tomorrow and the strait reopens, markets will not return to normal for at least six months,” Rystad Energy’s head of geopolitical analysis told the Financial Times earlier this…

Nuclear energy is experiencing a resurgence in popularity on a global scale, thanks to a resurgence in energy security anxieties worldwide. The AI boom has majorly ramped up energy demand projections around the world at the same time that climate pledges are inching dangerously close with perilously little progress to show. Add to this a near-endless cycle of energy crisis and geopolitical conflict, and you're presented with a majorly heightened energy trilemma: how to source energy that is sufficient, affordable, and sustainable. To solve this…

The legendary derivatives trading team at Vitol Group, the world’s largest oil trader, has reportedly lost hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars on oil bets that went very wrong as the war in the Middle East roiled global markets and trapped physical supply at the Strait of Hormuz. Vitol’s star trader Yaoyao Liu found himself on the wrong side of bets on crude and fuel prices at the start of the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, as prices soared in the worst disruption of global oil supply in history, the Wall Street Journal reports, quoting…

U.S. President Donald Trump has acknowledged that gasoline prices might remain high through the November 2026 midterm elections, a rare admission of the potential political fallout from the ongoing war in the Middle East. Trump told Fox News' Maria Bartiromo that gas prices could "stay the same, or maybe a little bit higher, but it should be around the same" when asked if gas prices would be lower by the fall. Trump has defended the surge as a "very small price to pay" for long-term global safety and the neutralization of Iran's nuclear threat.…

U.S. President Donald Trump has acknowledged that gasoline prices might remain high through the November 2026 midterm elections, a rare admission of the potential political fallout from the ongoing war in the Middle East. Trump told Fox News' Maria Bartiromo that gas prices could "stay the same, or maybe a little bit higher, but it should be around the same" when asked if gas prices would be lower by the fall. Trump has defended the surge as a "very small price to pay" for long-term global safety and the neutralization of Iran's nuclear threat.…

U.S. President Donald Trump has acknowledged that gasoline prices might remain high through the November 2026 midterm elections, a rare admission of the potential political fallout from the ongoing war in the Middle East. Trump told Fox News' Maria Bartiromo that gas prices could "stay the same, or maybe a little bit higher, but it should be around the same" when asked if gas prices would be lower by the fall. Trump has defended the surge as a "very small price to pay" for long-term global safety and the neutralization of Iran's nuclear threat.…