Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced Friday that the Strait of Hormuz is "completely open" to commercial shipping for the remainder of the US-Iran ceasefire, a declaration that drew an immediate public thank-you from President Trump. "In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire, on the coordinated route as already announced by Ports and Maritime Organisation of the Islamic Rep. of Iran," Araghchi wrote on X. Trump…

Indian refiners that have bought Iranian crude under the one-month U.S. waiver on Iran's oil on tankers are settling the purchases in Chinese yuan via the Shanghai office of India's ICICI Bank, Reuters reported on Friday, quoting multiple sources familiar with the deals. After initial hesitancy following the temporary U.S. waiver on purchases of Iranian crude loaded on tankers, some Indian refiners have opted to buy Iranian oil during the window of 'unsanctioned' crude from Iran that closes on Sunday, April 19. Earlier this week, U.S. Secretary…

Conflict Update (as of 12:00 a.m. ET, April 18) The U.S. rushed to lock in a 10-day Israel-Lebanon ceasefire starting on Thursday because the Lebanon front was starting to blow up the Iran talks. The Lebanon ceasefire did not get off to a smooth start, with Israeli strikes continuing right up to the deadline, killing civilians, and Hezbollah openly signaling it doesn’t trust the deal. Iran backed the Lebanon pause immediately and tied it to its own ceasefire with Washington, making clear it expects the regional fighting to be part of any…

Israel failed to demonstrate any meaningful gains in its own version of the war with Iran. Now, it needs a new enemy to target, and preferably one that would cause a dangerous wedge. The target is Turkey, a very important U.S. ally in this conflict, and Netanyahu is now publicly attempting to tie Erdogan to Iran and its proxies. Simultaneously, the propaganda machines are working overtime, with U.S. media now taking the Israeli “think tank” bait and questioning Turkey’s place inside NATO, pointing to Hamas links and Muslim Brotherhood…

WTI and Brent crude traded through a volatile stretch from this week, driven almost entirely by headlines tied to the U.S.-Iran conflict. By Thursday night, June WTI crude was trading at $89.23, up $0.25, or 0.28%. The week started with a sharp rally as supply fears spiked, then shifted into a mix of profit-taking and cautious buying as traders weighed the risk of a longer disruption against the chance of renewed talks. At the center of everything was the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for global oil, and the question of how long those…

Empty supertankers have left Asia en route to the U.S. via the Cape of Good Hope in one of the biggest queue of vessels ever seen at sea, as Asian buyers rush to load U.S. crude to replace part of the supply lost in the Middle East. "Tankers are forming what looks like a fleet, an unbroken line heading to the U.S.," Kpler's analyst Matt Smith has told Nikkei. "The queue of VLCCs bound for the U.S. is the biggest we've ever seen, highlighting a squeeze in oil supply," the analyst noted. Asia is starved of crude as its biggest suppliers, the oil…

Oil prices have held steady below $100 per barrel since the U.S. on Monday initiated a naval blockade to deter Iran-linked ships from passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The three days of calmer oil futures markets so far this week aren’t expected to last long amid the volatile geopolitical situation at the world’s most vital oil shipping lane. The price of oil has the potential to either surge to new highs or slump to pre-war levels, depending on the U.S.-Iran talks, but most of all—on the status of navigability of the Strait…

Oil markets clawed back their recent losses, with oil prices rallying after Congress voted in favor of keeping the U.S. military in Iran. The House rejected a resolution requiring President Trump to withdraw U.S. forces from the conflict with Iran, with Republicans largely supporting continued intervention, citing the need to tackle Iran's nuclear capabilities. Brent crude for June delivery gained 4.7% to trade at $101.7 per barrel 6:.44 pm ET on Thursday, while WTI crude spiked over 4% immediately after the vote, but by evening was trading down…

Damage caused to energy infrastructure in Gulf states would cost $58 billion to repair, Rystad Energy estimated this week, suggesting the fallout of the war between the U.S. and Israel, and Iran is more severe than futures market-focused observers would assume, because just two weeks ago, Rystad had calculated the damage at less than half that amount. According to the International Energy Agency’s head, Fatih Birol, more than 80 oil and gas facilities in Gulf states have been damaged in U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran's oil and gas facilities…

It could take up to two years to restore a meaningful share of oil and gas production lost in the Iran war, according to International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol. That timeline matters because markets are still treating the disruption as temporary. It isn’t. Oil fields, refineries, and pipelines have sustained damage across the Persian Gulf. The Strait of Hormuz has also been largely shut, cutting off a key export route for crude and fuels. Together, those disruptions have removed hundreds of millions of barrels from the market. In an…

It could take up to two years to restore a meaningful share of oil and gas production lost in the Iran war, according to International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol. That timeline matters because markets are still treating the disruption as temporary. It isn’t. Oil fields, refineries, and pipelines have sustained damage across the Persian Gulf. The Strait of Hormuz has also been largely shut, cutting off a key export route for crude and fuels. Together, those disruptions have removed hundreds of millions of barrels from the market. In an…

India’s central bank has told state-run oil refiners to stop buying dollars in the spot market and instead use a government-backed credit line. That matters because oil is priced in dollars, and refiners are some of the biggest buyers of dollars in the country. When they all go into the market at once to pay for crude, it puts direct pressure on the rupee. That pressure has been building for weeks. The Reserve Bank of India is now stepping in to manage the demand. State refiners, including Indian Oil Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation,…

While most countries manage their nuclear energy as a public sector, controlled and maintained by the state, the United States takes a uniquely American – which is to say, privatized – approach. As the tech sector becomes increasingly involved in nuclear energy and in the energy industry as a whole thanks to the insatiable energy needs of the AI boom, the nuclear energy landscape is changing. While there are some benefits to letting private interests compete in the nuclear energy sector in significant numbers, there are also considerable…

The escalation of conflict across the Middle East and the disruption to energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz have introduced a variable into the maritime energy transition that regulatory frameworks were never designed to handle: the possibility that conventional marine fuel becomes unavailable because competing domestic priorities absorb the available supply. This changes the analytical framing for clean shipping in a big way. Until now, the investment case for alternative marine fuels has been driven by compliance – organized around…

Norway could unlock volumes comparable to the Johan Sverdrup field from its existing oil and gas assets—but only if it moves quickly. In a tightening global market, advanced recovery may represent one of the few scalable sources of new supply. Norway’s mature continental shelf still holds hundreds of millions of barrels of recoverable oil and gas—but the window to extract them is closing. New analysis backed by the Norwegian Offshore Directorate suggests that advanced Enhanced Oil and Gas Recovery (EOGR) methods could unlock between…

A U.S.-Iran peace deal is not weeks away. Officials in the Gulf region are bracing for a timeline closer to six months. The Strait of Hormuz remains effectively shut. Flows are nowhere near normal. Gulf exporters are unable to move crude, LNG, and refined products at scale. That is already showing up in prices. Brent climbed nearly 5% on Thursday to trade above $99 per barrel and remains roughly 36% higher since the war began in late February. Leaders in the region want the Strait reopened immediately, and their concern goes well beyond energy.…

Bilateral trade between Iran and Tajikistan has skyrocketed during the first quarter of 2026, a timeframe coinciding with the start of the US/Israeli-Iran war. The jump in trade raises questions about whether Iran is trying to open a conduit via Tajikistan to procure technology and goods with military applications, and/or obtain essential goods for civilian use. Iran’s ambassador in Dushanbe, Alirizo Hakikiyon, met with top Tajik Transport Ministry officials on April 14 for discussions on expanding and expediting overland trade between the…

Iraq’s perennial unwillingness to reduce the vast amount of gas that it burns while drilling for oil (‘associated gas’) caused it three major problems over the years. To begin with, by failing to capture this gas for domestic power generation, the country was left reliant on Iran for as much as 40 percent of those needs, supplied through imported gas and electricity. That dependence gave Tehran an enormous lever over Baghdad, reinforcing the political, economic, and security influence it already wielded through its various proxy…

The boss of Britain’s largest industry body has called on the government to green-light extraction from two major North Sea oil fields and slash the windfall tax on domestic oil production in a bid to revitalise the country’s ailing oil and gas industry. CBI chief Rain Newton Smith said the North Sea was a “critical part” of the UK’s energy transition and that removing the additional tax on domestic producer profits and waving through the Jackdaw and Rosebank projects would encourage investment and economic activity.…

Iran has suspended all its petrochemical exports to ensure domestic supply amid reduced local availability following Israeli strikes early this month. The Islamic Republic is halting all exports to prevent a supply crunch for its domestic industries and raw materials, local economic newspaper Donya-e-Eqtesad reported on Thursday. A senior official at the National Petrochemical Company issued the order earlier this week, the Iranian media report. Exports would be halted until further notice, according to the directive. The export halt is intended…