Since US President Donald Trump took office last year, Washington and Brussels have clashed over trade, support for Ukraine, and military spending. Now there's a new battleground: the Western Balkans. Uniquely positioned at the intersection of EU and US interests, as well as Russian and Chinese influence, countries in the region have caught the eye of the world's superpowers, kicking off a race to capitalize on their emerging status, vulnerability, and weak economies. Nowhere is that more evident than in recent deals by US investors into energy…

Ministers are set to warn the British public that flight cancellations will hit summer holiday plans as new research suggested that the UK is more exposed to jet fuel shortages than other European countries.  Heidi Alexander, the transport secretary, is set to tell Brits that there could be flight cancellations this year as she will talk up staycations, according to The Times.  Her warnings will follow a prompt by Sir Keir Starmer that people would have to consider changing “where they go on holiday”.  Trade experts have…

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has officially withdrawn from the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), following the country’s landmark decision to exit OPEC and the broader OPEC+ alliance. “While it appreciates the role played by the UAE throughout its membership period and its active contribution to supporting joint Arab action in the petroleum and energy sector, the General Secretariat of OAPEC affirms at the same time its commitment to continuing its efforts to enhance co-operation and integration…

Norway’s energy major Equinor has extended key drilling and well services contracts worth a combined NOK 17 billion ($1.8 billion), reinforcing activity on the Norwegian continental shelf as the company targets production of around 1.2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day toward 2035 and seeks to safeguard stable energy supplies to Europe amid ongoing market uncertainty. The company is exercising one?year extension options on three integrated drilling and well services contracts, alongside two?year options on 18 corporate framework agreements…

Spanish energy giant Repsol is in the final stage of selling a 49% stake in its largest renewables portfolio in Spain to Masdar, the clean energy giant of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Spanish daily Cinco Dias reported on Monday, citing sources close to the deal. Repsol is finalizing a deal to sell to Masdar 49% in the Minerva project, which is valued at $994 million (850 million euros) and comprises 706 megawatts (MW) of installed capacity across 13 wind farms and six photovoltaic plants. The deal, expected to be finalized within weeks, is aimed…

Two months into the war with Iran, the Trump administration moved Monday to break Tehran's grip on the world's most important oil shipping lane, sending U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyers through the Strait of Hormuz and announcing 'Project Freedom,’ an operation aimed at guiding stranded commercial vessels out of the Gulf. U.S. Central Command confirmed that two U.S.-flagged merchant ships successfully transited the strait as the destroyers operated in the Arabian Gulf, the first American commercial vessels to do so since Iran effectively…

Equinor has extended $1.8 billion worth of drilling and well services supplier contracts as the Norwegian energy major looks to keep high oil and gas production offshore Norway and deliver stable energy volumes to Europe. Equinor is extending key supplier agreements worth a total of $1.8 billion (17 billion Norwegian crowns), by exercising one-year options under three contracts for integrated drilling and well services, as well as two-year options under 18 corporate framework agreements for specialist services linked to these deliveries, the company…

Iran has a long history of being screwed over by Russia, and last week’s meeting in Moscow between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Russian President Vladimir Putin over the U.S.–Israel–Iran war suggests nothing in that dynamic is about to change, according to extremely well-placed sources on both sides who spoke exclusively to OilPrice.com over the weekend. On the one hand, Tehran’s perennially baseless optimism that “this time will be different” was on full display in Araghchi’s excited…

In a major escalation of trade tensions between Washington and Beijing, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) has formally invoked its 2021 Blocking Rules for the first time to counteract U.S. sanctions against five Chinese oil refineries. Beijing has issued a prohibition order instructing all entities operating in China to disregard and not implement U.S. sanctions placed on five targeted refiners.  The order comes weeks before a planned meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. The U.S. Treasury has already sanctioned Chinese…

President Donald Trump may soon feel the need to "blockade" U. S. crude oil exports after those exports hit a record high recently, a trend which, if it continues, will increase the price U. S. consumers pay for gasoline, diesel, and other petroleum-related products. Nations around the world are scrambling to secure oil supplies that have been dramatically reduced by Iran's closing of the Strait of Hormuz to oil tankers of "hostile" countries, which include major oil exporters such as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. In addition,…

The United Arab Emirates has not directed at anyone its decision to leave OPEC and the broader OPEC+ alliance, Sultan al Jaber, the chief executive of Abu Dhabi’s national oil company ADNOC, said on Monday.  “The United Arab Emirates' sovereign decision to reposition itself within the global energy landscape, and to exit OPEC and OPEC+, is not a decision directed against anyone,” Al Jaber, who is also UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, said in a speech at the ‘Make It In The Emirates’ conference,…

The United Arab Emirates has not directed at anyone its decision to leave OPEC and the broader OPEC+ alliance, Sultan al Jaber, the chief executive of Abu Dhabi’s national oil company ADNOC, said on Monday.  “The United Arab Emirates' sovereign decision to reposition itself within the global energy landscape, and to exit OPEC and OPEC+, is not a decision directed against anyone,” Al Jaber, who is also UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, said in a speech at the ‘Make It In The Emirates’ conference,…

A tanker carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) passed through the Strait of Hormuz this weekend en route to India in the first crossing of an India-linked LPG cargo since the U.S. launched a blockade outside the Strait to prevent Iranian oil exports. The MT Sarv Shakti, chartered by Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the country's biggest state refiner, clear the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday and is expected to arrive in Visakhapatnam on May 13, Indian media report, citing an official government statement. As of early on Monday, May 5, the vessel flying…

The Iranian Armed Forces on Monday warned the U.S. it would attack forces that intend to approach or enter the Strait of Hormuz, after U.S. President Donald Trump launched ‘Project Freedom’ to help escort vessels stranded in the Gulf out of the Middle East. President Trump on Sunday announced that "Project Freedom" would begin on Monday morning, Middle Eastern time. The project will involve the U.S. guiding stranded vessels out of the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump emphasized that the stranded ships would be from "areas of the world…

The prime ministers of Australia and Japan today inked an energy cooperation agreement that also covers critical mineral supply. Australia is a leading supplier of energy commodities to resource-poor Japan and the top supplier of liquefied natural gas, Reuters noted in a report on the news. “Australia and Japan are taking action to protect our economies from future economic shocks and uncertainty,” Australia’s Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, following the signing of the deal with Japan’s Sanae Takaichi, who is on a three-day…

Oil prices edged lower in early Asian trading on Monday after President Trump announced the U.S. would guide ships through the Strait of Hormuz and OPEC+ confirmed a modest output increase. At the time of writing, WTI crude was down 0.65% at $101.30, while Brent crude had dropped 0.39% to $107.80. The President took to social media on Sunday to announce that "Project Freedom" would begin on Monday morning, Middle Eastern time. The project will involve the U.S. guiding stranded vessels out of the Strait of Hormuz. He emphasized that the stranded…

Oil prices edged lower in early Asian trading on Monday after President Trump announced the U.S. would guide ships through the Strait of Hormuz and OPEC+ confirmed a modest output increase. At the time of writing, WTI crude was down 0.65% at $101.30, while Brent crude had dropped 0.39% to $107.80. The President took to social media on Sunday to announce that "Project Freedom" would begin on Monday morning, Middle Eastern time. The project will involve the U.S. guiding stranded vessels out of the Strait of Hormuz. He emphasized that the stranded…

For about ten years, Big Oil moved away from Canada’s oil sands and into cheaper, more easily developed—and less regulated—locations. Now, the supermajors are returning, looking for a piece of an energy industry that just got a lot more attractive. Last week, Shell said it would buy Canada’s ARC Resources in a $16.4-billion deal that will add roughly 370,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day to its production and strengthen the supermajor’s position in one of the continent’s most strategic gas corridors. The…

Last month, we reported that Bridger Pipeline LLC has proposed a giant pipeline with a capacity in excess of 1 million barrels per day (bpd) to transport Canadian crude into the United States. Dubbed "Keystone Light" due to its similarities to the Keystone XL project that former U.S. President Joe Biden canceled in 2021, the 36-inch pipeline would span nearly 650 miles (1,050 km) from the U.S.-Canada border in Phillips County, Montana, to Guernsey, Wyoming, and cost approximately US$2 billion.  And now U.S. President Donald Trump has given…

America's worrisome dependency on foreign sources of lithium could become a thing of the past: About 328 years' worth of last year's lithium imports is buried in Appalachia, according to a new analysis published by the US Geological Survey (USGS). That's about 2.3 million metric tons of undiscovered but economically recoverable lithium -- aka "white gold." "This research shows that the Appalachians contain enough lithium to help meet the nation's growing needs – a major contribution to U.S. mineral security, at a time when global lithium…