A sanctioned tanker carrying Iranian crude has abruptly changed destination from a port on India's west coast to an import terminal in China, in a move suggesting that India would not be imminently importing its first crude from Iran in seven years. The crude tanker Ping Shun, which the United States sanctioned last year for dealing with Iranian crude, signaled earlier this week that it was headed to the port of Vadinar on the west coast of India. However, the latest positioning of the Ping Shun, at least according to its AIS tracker, signals it…

Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict The Sharara pipeline was hit in Libya’s southwest, and that location explains the attack. This is not territory firmly controlled by either Khalifa Haftar or Abdul Hamid Dbeibah. Haftar’s forces are anchored in the east, Dbeibah’s authority is in and around Tripoli, and the northwest. The corridor linking Sharara to Zawiya runs through the Murzuq basin, where control is fragmented. Local militias and tribal groups handle security around the National Oil Corporation infrastructure but operate…

Trump entered office promising to avoid new wars. The U.S. is now engaged in an expanding conflict with Iran that has spiralled out of control, and the administration has not clearly defined what constitutes success or how the war ends. Further eroding confidence, late on Thursday, in the middle of a war, the U.S. Defense Secretary has forced the resignation of Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George and two other senior officers, Gen. David Hodne and Maj. Gen. William Green Jr., in what is now one of the most significant wartime leadership changes…

May WTI crude oil surged sharply in the holiday-shortened week ending April 3, settling at $111.54, up $11.90 or +11.94%. The move was driven by a combination of geopolitical escalation, supply disruption risks, and growing concerns about global oil infrastructure security. Traders were forced to rapidly reprice risk, with volatility spiking across the energy complex as headlines intensified into the close. War Risk and Supply Shock Drive Breakout The dominant catalyst behind this week’s rally was the rapid escalation in tensions between…

China plans to phase out some of its outdated petrochemical plants by 2029 and upgrade others, under new directives issued by the authorities on Friday. The Chinese authorities will review which facilities will be upgraded and which will be closed, using lists of outdated petrochemical plants compiled by local governments in recent months, according to documents by the central government cited by Reuters. China and its refiners and petrochemical producers have been struggling with low margins amid overcapacity and falling demand for road transportation…

The price of Canada’s synthetic crude, which has rich diesel yield for refiners, has surged by nearly 200% since March 27 as the Middle East war cripples global diesel supply and sends diesel futures, cracks, and retail prices soaring. The synthetic crude made from processing of bitumen from Alberta’s oil sands is very low sulfur and its chemical content makes it highly suitable for processing into jet fuel and diesel—the most stressed barrels amid the worst disruption to supply in the history of the oil market. Canada’s…

Oil markets reversed their recent downtrend on Thursday, with oil prices surging after President Donald Trump declared that the U.S. would continue to hit Iran "extremely hard" for the next two to three weeks. Trump warned that he would hit all of Iran's electric generating plants if a deal is not reached, sending the country back to the Stone Age. Trump’s bellicosity marks a sudden shift in policy, suggesting that securing the Strait of Hormuz is no longer Washington’s top priority. Brent crude for May delivery was up 7.58% to trade…

Nano Nuclear submitted a Construction Permit Application (CPA) to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for their Kronos microreactor project at the University of Illinois. The filing marks the latest step in a project we’ve tracked since site characterization began last fall. Kronos is a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) engineered for commercial deployment. It delivers 15 megawatts of carbon-free baseload power using meltdown-resistant TRISO fuel and helium coolant. The design emphasizes walk-away safety, autonomous operation…

Soaring jet fuel prices have hit the profitability of airlines, who have started raising air fares and grounding flights to contain the fallout from the Iran war, which has more than doubled aviation fuel prices over the past month. Oil and jet fuel supplies are constrained as crude and petroleum products are trapped at the Strait of Hormuz, forcing Asian refiners to cut run rates and Asian countries to restrict or ban exports to preserve domestic supply. Jet Fuel Shock The product market came under more severe stress than the crude markets as…

The effective blockage of the Strait of Hormuz has thrown the world’s continued dependence on fossil fuels into sharp relief. The interruption to the waterway, which accommodates one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas, has thrown global energy markets into turmoil. The blockage represents the single-largest interruption to global oil trade in history. But it’s not causing nearly as much pain as past oil crises thanks to a much more diverse global energy mix. “There is little sign that the war with Iran will cause the kind…

Artificial intelligence companies were top of the list in mergers and acquisitions—including fundraisers—over the first quarter of the year as activity in the field remained unbothered by the war in the Middle East and the energy crunch it caused. The first-quarter M&A deal data, as reported by Reuters, suggests that investors are not following short-term developments linked to the war but are taking a longer-term view and a new resilience to shocks. “We have seen a series of market disruptions over the last couple of years…

The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States rose this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Thursday, bringing the total rig count in the US to 548, down 42 from this same time last year. The number of active oil rigs rose by 2 to 411 during the latest reporting period, according to the data. This is 70 below this same time last year. The number of gas rigs rose by 3, reaching 130, which is 26 more than this time last year. The miscellaneous rig count stayed the same at 7. The latest EIA data…

OPEC+ is preparing to weigh another output increase this Sunday as the world’s most critical oil artery remains effectively shut. Eight core members of the group are expected to discuss raising production again after agreeing to a 206,000 bpd increase for April. Two OPEC+ sources told Reuters that the group is likely to move forward with another hike on paper, positioning itself to add barrels quickly if the Strait of Hormuz reopens. More than 20% of global oil flows normally pass through Hormuz. That flow is now constrained by the U.S.-Israeli…

OPEC+ is preparing to weigh another output increase this Sunday as the world’s most critical oil artery remains effectively shut. Eight core members of the group are expected to discuss raising production again after agreeing to a 206,000 bpd increase for April. Two OPEC+ sources told Reuters that the group is likely to move forward with another hike on paper, positioning itself to add barrels quickly if the Strait of Hormuz reopens. More than 20% of global oil flows normally pass through Hormuz. That flow is now constrained by the U.S.-Israeli…

Britain’s airlines face significant disruption in a matter of weeks if the war in Iran continues throughout April, as a global jet fuel shortage has already forced carriers in Asia to slash service levels in a bid to manage supplies. Major UK-based carriers have said that they have between five and six weeks’ worth of supplies before their reserves will begin to run short as a result of the protracted closure of the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping lane. Several Asian airlines have already been forced to cancel some routes until as far…

WTI crude spiked to $111.29 per barrel on Thursday, with Brent trading at $107.57, inverting the global benchmark structure as the market repriced accessible supply amid a prolonged disruption at the Strait of Hormuz. WTI rarely trades at a premium to Brent. Brent crude reflects seaborne crude and typically leads during global supply shocks, while WTI crude is usually discounted. The current inversion points to a breakdown in normal pricing signals tied to physical flows. Part of the move is technical: WTI’s front-month contract reflects…

A Georgian company has struck a deal to import coal, metals, and chemical products from the Russian-occupied Ukrainian region of Donetsk, a move that raises fresh questions about sanctions enforcement and underscores Tbilisi's tightening economic ties with Moscow. The agreement involves George Oil Ltd, owned by Valerian Kochiashvili, who has openly expressed his intention to trade with Russia and use raw materials from Ukraine’s Donbas to access markets beyond EU restrictions. The entrepreneur confirmed the arrangement to Georgian media,…

Russia is banning gasoline producers from exporting the fuel until July 31, expanding the current ban that applied only to non-producers, as the Middle East war and the Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian export terminals have upended the global and domestic markets. The Russian government on Thursday said it had expanded the ban on gasoline exports to producers of the fuel, Russian news agency Interfax reported. Russia has had a ban on gasoline exports by non-producers, but now the measure is expanding to gasoline producers. The new ban exempts…

Russia is banning gasoline producers from exporting the fuel until July 31, expanding the current ban that applied only to non-producers, as the Middle East war and the Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian export terminals have upended the global and domestic markets. The Russian government on Thursday said it had expanded the ban on gasoline exports to producers of the fuel, Russian news agency Interfax reported. Russia has had a ban on gasoline exports by non-producers, but now the measure is expanding to gasoline producers. The new ban exempts…

Russia is banning gasoline producers from exporting the fuel until July 31, expanding the current ban that applied only to non-producers, as the Middle East war and the Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian export terminals have upended the global and domestic markets. The Russian government on Thursday said it had expanded the ban on gasoline exports to producers of the fuel, Russian news agency Interfax reported. Russia has had a ban on gasoline exports by non-producers, but now the measure is expanding to gasoline producers. The new ban exempts…