The missile strikes on Feb. 28 changed the math for every commodity desk in the world…. Operation Epic Fury resulted in the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and perhaps the near-total collapse of the Iranian command structure. But President Donald Trump signaled this is just the beginning. In a video released from Mar-a-Lago, Trump warned of a "big wave" of attacks yet to come and suggested a four-week window to finalize regime change. That four-week window is already closing. Twelve days into Operation Epic Fury, the conflict is costing…

Two oil tankers carrying Iraqi oil products caught fire Wednesday after being struck in Iraqi territorial waters near the country’s southern export terminals, according to Iraqi port officials and multiple media reports. The vessels, Vishnu, a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker chartered to an Iraqi company, and Zefyros, a Malta-flagged tanker transporting condensate from the Basra Gas Company, were operating near Iraq’s Al-Faw port area close to Basra when the incident occurred. Iraq’s director general of the General Company for…

Oil markets continue to experience heightened volatility as the Middle East conflict escalates, with oil prices trending north on Wednesday, shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump signaled that the war in the Middle East is nearly complete. In remarks made a couple of days ago, Trump described the conflict as a "short-term excursion" that is ahead of schedule and is nearing its final phase. At 3.55 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Brent crude for April delivery was up over 5% to trade at $92.21 per barrel, while the corresponding WTI crude contract was…

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz since March 1 has triggered an unprecedented distortion in global jet fuel markets, pushing European aviation fuel prices to historic extremes and exposing the continent’s structural dependence on Middle Eastern supply. In a market where diesel has traditionally commanded a premium over jet fuel, the sudden disruption of Gulf exports has inverted long-standing price relationships, leaving Europe desperately searching for alternatives that are either geographically distant, commercially unattractive, or…

Oil prices climbed sharply on Wednesday even after the International Energy Agency announced the largest coordinated release of strategic oil reserves in its history, underscoring the scale of supply concerns stemming from escalating tensions in the Middle East. At the time of writing, WTI crude was trading at $93.96, up 7.69%, while Brent crude stood at $91.98, up 4.76% on the day. The price surge came as shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz intensified fears of a prolonged supply shock, offsetting any downward pressure from the IEA’s…

Oil prices climbed sharply on Wednesday even after the International Energy Agency announced the largest coordinated release of strategic oil reserves in its history, underscoring the scale of supply concerns stemming from escalating tensions in the Middle East. At the time of writing, WTI crude was trading at $93.96, up 7.69%, while Brent crude stood at $91.98, up 4.76% on the day. The price surge came as shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz intensified fears of a prolonged supply shock, offsetting any downward pressure from the IEA’s…

There's a particular kind of dread that sets in when you're watching an official tweet get deleted in real time. On Tuesday, the Energy Secretary posted that the U.S. Navy had successfully escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz. Markets moved on it...  Brent crude swung 17 percent in a single session, briefly crashing below $80.  The White House press secretary then clarified: no armed escort had actually taken place. The tweet disappeared. Brent recovered toward $90. And somewhere, a few hundred traders made a lot of money…

Less than a week ago, the head of the International Energy Agency said there was “plenty of oil” in the market, and there was no need for an emergency release. This week, Fatih Birol proposed an emergency release of hundreds of millions of barrels, the largest ever. Meanwhile, the U.S. oil and gas industry seems to be in a wait-and-see mode—and it’s hard to blame them. The launch of strikes by the United States and Israel on Iran prompted retaliation that resulted in something few expected would ever happen: the effective…

The war in Iran is sending shockwaves through global energy markets that will be felt for years to come. The conflict is causing the single biggest oil supply disruption in history, as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has caused a nine-day disruption of 20 percent of the world’s oil transports, more-than doubling the previous record set during the Suez crisis of 1956. But the war and its energy market impacts represent much more than just economic chaos – they are also the harbingers of serious and lasting human and environmental…

The world’s top crude oil and LNG importer, China, is not as exposed and vulnerable to energy deliveries from the Middle East as one might think. China has been amassing crude volumes in storage for months, it has been working for years to diversify oil and gas supply sources and routes, and has boosted the share of transport electrification, which has reduced demand for road transportation fuels. As the Middle East crisis choked off supplies via the world’s most critical oil and gas chokepoint, the Strait of Hormuz, China is more resilient…

An oil pipeline crossing the Canada-US border may be back on government agendas, as the proponent, South Bow Corp (TSX:SOBO), looks to revive the long-dead project. TC Energy (TSX:TRP) spun the oil pipeline component of its business out to South Bow in 2024 to concentrate on natural gas and power. The rationale for Keystone was a way to bring together booming US oil production, and to a lesser extent, production from the oil sands in Northern Alberta, to Gulf Coast refineries that were facing declining imports from Mexico and Venezuela. The project…

Energy shocks rarely remain confined to energy markets. They propagate through bond markets, fiscal balances and inflation expectations, says Helen Thomas As Winston Churchill once warned: “The statesman who yields to war fever must realise that once the signal is given he is no longer the master of policy, but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events.” The conflict in Iran is already affecting global markets. Oil prices have surged, bond yields are rising and traders are rapidly reassessing the outlook for inflation and…

The U.S.–Israel attacks on Iran and the Afghanistan–Pakistan conflict threaten Central Asia’s plans to establish southbound trade routes to markets in Asia and Africa. Military escalation between Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government and Pakistan threatens several emerging trade, transport, and energy corridors linking Central Asia to South Asia, the Persian Gulf, and global markets. Risks are both direct (insecurity along routes) and indirect (border closures, investor withdrawal, and partner-state reluctance). Pakistan…

Oil markets are bracing for an even bigger potential price shock with Iran on Wednesday warning that crude could surge to $200 per barrel if the war involving the U.S. and Israel continues to destabilize the Middle East’s energy corridors. Ebrahim Zolfaqari, spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya military command headquarters, warned the world to “get ready for oil to be $200 a barrel,” arguing that regional security has been destabilized by the ongoing bombing campaign against Iran.   The $200 oil price tag…

Oil markets are bracing for an even bigger potential price shock with Iran on Wednesday warning that crude could surge to $200 per barrel if the war involving the U.S. and Israel continues to destabilize the Middle East’s energy corridors. Ebrahim Zolfaqari, spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya military command headquarters, warned the world to “get ready for oil to be $200 a barrel,” arguing that regional security has been destabilized by the ongoing bombing campaign against Iran.   The $200 oil price tag…

Intent on staying on Tehran’s good side, Armenia and Azerbaijan have both saluted the elevation of Mojtaba Khamenei to be Iran’s Supreme Leader. The congratulatory notes sent by Yerevan and Baku highlight the delicate geopolitical balance that both are trying to maintain amid the ongoing US-Israeli air campaign to cause the Islamic Republic’s collapse. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan share a frontier with Iran. Meanwhile, both are heavily invested in developing a US-backed trade corridor, known as TRIPP or the Trump Route for International…

Saudi Arabia’s oil giant Aramco is requesting from Asian buyers to nominate crude loading plans for April for both its key export port in the Gulf and the export alternative on the Red Sea, multiple sources told Reuters on Wednesday. The crisis at the Strait of Hormuz has reverberated through global markets. With the Strait effectively blocked for tanker traffic, Saudi Arabia has diverted part of its crude oil exports from the Ras Tanura export terminal in the Gulf that needs free-flowing traffic through Hormuz to the Yanbu export port on…

Iranian drones struck oil storage facilities at the Port of Salalah in Oman on Wednesday, marking the latest attack on Gulf energy infrastructure as the regional war expands into a full-scale confrontation over global oil supply. Fuel storage tanks at the port were hit in the strike, according to maritime security firm Ambrey and Omani state media, though no merchant vessels in the area were damaged.OSINT account Visioner shared video footage of the oil storage facilities after the attack: ????????????BREAKING | A few minutes ago, Iranian drones…

Iranian drones struck oil storage facilities at the Port of Salalah in Oman on Wednesday, marking the latest attack on Gulf energy infrastructure as the regional war expands into a full-scale confrontation over global oil supply. Fuel storage tanks at the port were hit in the strike, according to maritime security firm Ambrey and Omani state media, though no merchant vessels in the area were damaged.OSINT account Visioner shared video footage of the oil storage facilities after the attack: ????????????BREAKING | A few minutes ago, Iranian drones…

The International Energy Agency (IEA) and its member nations have agreed to release a record 400 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves in an attempt to stabilize global energy markets as the war involving Iran continues to disrupt crude flows through the Strait of Hormuz. The coordinated action, announced Wednesday by the IEA, represents the largest emergency oil release ever organized by the group and only the sixth such intervention since the IEA was created following the 1970s oil shocks. The move comes as tanker traffic through the…