The crisis around the Strait of Hormuz has become a severe stress test for both Gulf crude suppliers and their key buyers. Despite repeated assurances from U.S. officials that the waterway was never formally blocked, satellite tracking suggests that no oil or product tankers transited the strait since March 1. The disruption immediately placed the world’s largest importers under pressure. China and India together consume tens of millions of barrels per day, and both remain structurally dependent on Gulf crude. China has steadily expanded…

A drone strike hit oil infrastructure in Bahrain’s Ma’ameer industrial area, according to multiple early reports Thursday morning, raising  concerns about the vulnerability of Gulf refining assets as regional tensions escalate. The Ma’ameer area is home to infrastructure connected to BAPCO’s refining operations. While full details remain limited, early reports indicate an Iranian ballistic missile attack targeted energy infrastructure in the industrial zone rather than upstream production. Authorities have not yet released…

Shell and Kazakhstan have signed an agreement for oil and gas exploration in the Zhanaturmys block in western Kazakhstan, the Kazakh Energy Ministry said on Thursday. The agreement – signed by Kazakhstan’s Deputy Energy Minister Yerlan Akbarov and Suzanne Coogan, Senior Vice President and Country Chair at Shell Kazakhstan – entails seismic exploration, data collection, and technical assessment of potential oil and gas resources in the Zhanaturmys block. The contract will run until 2032, considering the scale and technical complexity…

The world’s top crude importer, China, plans to further boost its undisclosed strategic oil reserves and expand storage capacity under its newly-unveiled five-year development plan. China will build more projects to expand its oil reserves, according to the authorities, who did not provide figures or details about the expected jump in crude reserve buildups and capacities. The country is also betting on growing its domestic natural gas production and keeping its crude oil output steady at about 4 million barrels per day (bpd), or 200 million…

US and Israeli forces continued to strike Iran, while the US Senate rejected a bid that would have limited President Donald Trump's authority to continue military action against the Middle East country without congressional approval. Trump earlier on March 4 said any Iranian officials who seek to assume top positions to replace Iran's fallen leaders "end up dead" and he vowed the United States and Israel will "continue forward" in the joint military campaign against the country. "We're in a very strong position now, and their leadership is just…

An oil tanker anchored off Kuwait reported late on Wednesday a large explosion and a subsequent leak from a cargo tank, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), a Royal Navy-sponsored organization, said on Thursday as the war in the Middle East escalates and tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has come to a halt.   UKMTO said it had received a report of an incident 30 nautical miles south east of Mubarak Al Kabeer, Kuwait.   “The Master of a tanker at anchor, reports witnessing and hearing a large…

Iran has launched a massive retaliatory campaign following joint U.S. and Israeli airstrikes, sending an unprecedented barrage of more than 500 ballistic missiles and 2,000 drones across targets in Israel and several Gulf states. A drone strike on a command center killed six U.S. service members in Kuwait while several missiles were intercepted near Al Udeid Air Base, the largest U.S. base in the region. Commodity analysts at Standard Chartered have hiked their oil price forecasts, noting that unlike last year’s largely symbolic response,…

Tanker rates are through the roof, movement through the Strait of Hormuz is severely reduced because of war cover cancellations by insurers, and the combination of these developments has sent oil prices flying. Now, there’s a third factor that would likely aggravate the situation further: there are not enough supertankers. Bloomberg reported the news this week, saying there were between six and a dozen supertankers that were available for booking in the Persian Gulf, if, of course, the potential client was willing to pay the record daily…

Just a month ago, Europe was attracting most LNG spot cargoes as solid demand and fast-depleting gas inventories fetched higher prices than in Asia, where demand was lackluster. A month is a long time in today’s geopolitical order and this week the global gas market was jolted into a massive shock that upended supply and demand trends. Qatar’s halt of LNG production and the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz roiled Asian and European gas markets with reminders of the 2022 crisis. While Asia receives the overwhelming majority of…

The race is on to achieve commercial nuclear fusion. While the technology was first conceptualized a full century ago, the ambition to replicate the process that powers our sun here on Earth has only recently exited the realm of sci-fi ambitions into reality. Fueled in part by the accelerating need for energy thanks to the AI boom, nuclear fusion is receiving more attention and investment dollars than ever before, and breakthroughs are starting to pile up. While China and the United States are leading the charge in a high-stakes battle for commercial…

Military strikes in the Middle East and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz have triggered one of the sharpest moves in European gas markets over the past year, with the Title Transfer Facility (TTF) benchmark surging on disrupted liquefied natural gas (LNG) flows. The shock is transmitting directly into European power markets, with price reactions varying according to national gas exposure. Beyond the immediate volatility, the market reaction underscores the structural linkage between global LNG supply, European electricity pricing and…

Largely overlooked because of the burgeoning conflict in the Middle East, “open war” has erupted between Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Taliban leadership. The fighting all along its southern rim represents a major setback for Central Asia’s global trade agenda. The Pakistani-Afghan conflict shows no signs of easing after almost a week of fighting. On March 2, Pakistan conducted air strikes on a key military site near Kabul, Bagram Air Base, which served as the hub for US military operations during the 20-year American presence…

Nowhere To Run There don't appear to be many safe havens as the situation in Middle East continues to evolve. Not in markets, and not in the region either. At the time of writing, Israel has launched a new strike on Iran. And the US is considering arming Kurdish forces, trying to convince them to take part in a ground offensive against the regime. Iran, meanwhile, has retaliated not only against the US and Israel, but against various countries in the region and against both military and civilian targets. Maybe this is simply an attempt to…

Bloomberg News headlines indicate that Iraq has begun shutting down oil output at Rumaila, the world's largest "supergiant" oil field, while other Gulf states have idled some of the world's largest refineries and major energy hubs following Iranian drone strikes. This signals that a massive energy disruption is set to hit global energy markets as the Strait of Hormuz remains paralyzed. Goldman analysts led by Duffy Fischer have released a note assessing whether U.S. chemical manufacturers have exposure to Middle East energy disruptions. They find…

The U.S. government will exempt the German units of Russian oil major Rosneft PJSC from sanctions indefinitely, Reuters reported on Wednesday, noting that the exemption applies to Rosneft Deutschland and RN Refining & Marketing, both of which have been under German federal trusteeship since 2022. According to Germany's Economy Minister Katherina Reiche, the U.S. issued a "Letter of Comfort" on Tuesday, acknowledging that the two businesses had been fully separated from their parent company in Russia. The indefinite status succeeds a previous…

The U.S. government will exempt the German units of Russian oil major Rosneft PJSC from sanctions indefinitely, Reuters reported on Wednesday, noting that the exemption applies to Rosneft Deutschland and RN Refining & Marketing, both of which have been under German federal trusteeship since 2022. According to Germany's Economy Minister Katherina Reiche, the U.S. issued a "Letter of Comfort" on Tuesday, acknowledging that the two businesses had been fully separated from their parent company in Russia. The indefinite status succeeds a previous…

Ever since Donald Trump slapped tariffs on Canadian goods on Feb. 1, 2025, Prime Minister Mark Carney has been encouraging trade with nations other than the United States. The former central banker turned politician wants to double non-US exports over the next decade. Towards that goal, Carney met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi on Monday as part of a four-day trip to deepen trade and diplomatic ties. The centerpiece was a deal between the Indian government and Saskatchewan-based uranium producer Cameco (TSX:CCO) to supply nearly…

The United States and Japan have been considering the inclusion of a nuclear power project involving Westinghouse in the $550-billion package of investment that Japan has pledged in the U.S. under the bilateral trade deal, sources familiar with the plans told Reuters on Wednesday.   Last year, as part of the U.S.-Japan trade agreement, Japan pledged to buy $8 billion worth of American products per year. The Government of Japan has also agreed to invest $550 billion in the United States, the White House said. At the time, U.S. Secretary…

The United States and Japan have been considering the inclusion of a nuclear power project involving Westinghouse in the $550-billion package of investment that Japan has pledged in the U.S. under the bilateral trade deal, sources familiar with the plans told Reuters on Wednesday.   Last year, as part of the U.S.-Japan trade agreement, Japan pledged to buy $8 billion worth of American products per year. The Government of Japan has also agreed to invest $550 billion in the United States, the White House said. At the time, U.S. Secretary…

The United States and Japan have been considering the inclusion of a nuclear power project involving Westinghouse in the $550-billion package of investment that Japan has pledged in the U.S. under the bilateral trade deal, sources familiar with the plans told Reuters on Wednesday.   Last year, as part of the U.S.-Japan trade agreement, Japan pledged to buy $8 billion worth of American products per year. The Government of Japan has also agreed to invest $550 billion in the United States, the White House said. At the time, U.S. Secretary…