Japan's biggest LNG importer and largest power producer, JERA, has secured its LNG supply through July and will adjust its procurement strategy to be more flexible amid the Middle East conflict that has trapped LNG supply behind the Strait of Hormuz. “At present, we have sufficient stock to last until July,” Masato Otaki, JERA's Executive Officer and Head of the Financial Strategy and Planning Division, said on Monday, as carried by Reuters. “Depending on how long the blockade continues, we will need to adjust our procurement…

US President Donald Trump said that Tehran "can call us" if it wants to talk, but he added that it must give up any plans to build a nuclear weapon or "there's no reason to meet." Meanwhile, Abbas Araqchi, Iran's foreign minister and key negotiator, arrived in St. Petersburg, where he is expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a key ally, on April 27 as the future of Pakistani-mediated peace talks between the US and Iran remains clouded. "If they want to talk, they can come to us, or they can call us. You know, there is a telephone.…

Chinese Hengli Petrochemical saw its shares drop sharply by 10% today following the United States’ imposition of sanctions on the company, alleging it bought crude oil from Iran despite U.S. sanctions on the industry. Hengli Petrochemical is one of China’s largest independent refiners. The company denied the allegations, saying it “has never engaged in any trade with Iran,” and that its suppliers “guaranteed that the origins of the crude oil supplied do not fall within the scope of U.S. sanctions,” as quoted…

Goldman Sachs once again raised its outlook for oil prices, now seeing Brent crude at an average of $90 per barrel in the fourth quarter of the year, and West Texas Intermediate at $83 per barrel. At the time of writing, Brent crude was trading at $106.68 per barrel, and WTI was changing hands at $95.35 per barrel as negotiations between Iran and the United States remain on hold, with the restart uncertain. “The economic risks are larger than our crude base case alone suggests because of the net upside risks to oil prices, unusually high…

Last month, the International Energy Agency (IEA) announced the coordinated release of over 400 million barrels of oil from global strategic reserves to combat high energy prices amid the Middle East turmoil. The U.S. was to contribute approximately 172 million barrels of this total, with the release taking place over 120 days starting late March 2026 to help lower gasoline costs. And now reports have emerged that theTrump administration has authorized the release of millions of barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), with Europe…

The impact of the war in the Middle East could lead to structural demand destruction on the world’s natural gas markets, the head of the Gas Exporting Countries’ Forum warned in the latest sign of the far-reaching impacts of the hostilities between the United States and Israel, and Iran. The war has already disrupted international gas flows because of the Strait of Hormuz closure and the strikes on energy infrastructure in the Persian Gulf, which were Iran’s retaliation for U.S. and Israeli strikes that began at the end of February.…

Undersea cables are vital for delivering renewable power from offshore projects and providing cross-country telecommunications connectivity. The rapid growth of undersea cable networks is helping to boost regional connectivity worldwide. However, more must be done to reduce vulnerabilities in these networks and combat the threat of sabotage. There are various types of cables running under the sea, each with its own purpose. The first undersea cables were put in place in the 19th century, with over 400 cables now active worldwide. Some submarine…

China has been consolidating its control over global lithium supplies for years now. As the lithium-ion battery sector continues to grow at a massive pace, the extreme concentration of lithium supply chains gives China a major economic and geopolitical advantage. It also creates worrying vulnerabilities for the rest of the world that has come to rely on imports of the ‘white gold’ to keep their tech and energy sectors running. Half of the global lithium market is controlled by China alone. “For over a decade, China has meticulously…

Green hydrogen gained significant traction during the post-pandemic period, as governments worldwide pledged to decarbonise their economies and energy companies looked to diversify their portfolios. Hydrogen produced using renewable energy as an input looked like the best way to provide a clean alternative to traditional fuels, as it can be used for a range of applications, including decarbonising hard-to-abate industries. However, many green hydrogen projects are now lagging behind as energy companies scale back their climate plans and governments…

The market will panic when the Strait of Hormuz closes. When it reopens, policymakers will all feel relieved. At present, we are all witnessing this in real time, but reality is definitely the opposite. The latest data coming out in April 2026 should put an end to that illusion. Even after repeated announcements by Iran and the USA that Hormuz was “open,” real-time, actual maritime traffic only shows evidence of a near collapse. Markets are still struggling to get to grips with the fact that, during the opening of Hormuz, vessel traffic…

Nigeria is finally starting to fix a long-standing imbalance: a major crude exporter that couldn’t meet its own fuel demand. That shift is now materializing in hard numbers—and it is being driven entirely by the Dangote refinery, which is already running close to full capacity and shows little sign of slowing. In a market starved of refined products, this rising refining giant is quickly emerging as one of the few reliable sources in the current supply squeeze, particularly for Europe. In March, gasoline exports rose to 55,000 b/d while…

The United States’ geothermal energy sector has gradually expanded in recent years, as states look to diversify their energy mix. While several renewable energy sectors have struggled to stay afloat under the Trump administration, the government has continued to show support for geothermal energy development. Further, innovations in enhanced geothermal technologies are expected to support greater sectoral expansion in the coming years. Geothermal energy is generated by drilling into underground heat pockets in the Earth’s surface to…

As the world adds solar and wind energy capacity at an unprecedented scale, we are increasingly faced with an energy variability crisis. Solar panels only produce energy when the sun is shining, and wind turbines when the wind is blowing. Unfortunately, energy demand curves are often directly at odds with these production trends. This creates a major dilemma for the energy grid, as well as for energy markets. And market volatility, including record-breaking negative energy prices in places where renewables have been deployed at a massive scale,…

As the United States government continues to crack down on renewable energy development, several states are being forced to backtrack on their climate goals as they view them as increasingly unachievable. This marks a significant shift away from Biden-era green transition policy aims across the U.S., when several state governments were optimistic about achieving ambitious mid- and long-term climate goals. Between 2021 and 2025, the Biden administration introduced several policies aimed at spurring a nationwide green transition to achieve ambitious…

A transformation is taking place in clean energy and climate investing. The current energy crisis has shifted global energy priorities, with a newfound emphasis on energy security and resilience. As a result, flows of investing dollars are shifting away from new and innovative technologies toward tried and true energy sources and methods that fall under the purview of established and trusted entities. We are also seeing – at long last – a shift toward investing in much-needed energy infrastructure to support the world's fast-growing…

Analysts at Mercuria, the Geneva-based Swiss commodities trading firm, are sounding the alarm on the global aluminum market after severe disruptions in the Gulf region, adding to a growing list of trading desks and research teams warning of a deepening supply shock. “The scale of the supply shock we’re seeing in the aluminum market is probably the largest single supply shock a base metals market has suffered in the post-2000 era,” Mercuria commodities analyst Nick Snowdon told Reuters on the sidelines of the Financial Times Commodities…

International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol says the Iran war has permanently changed the fossil fuel industry and will accelerate a shift toward renewables, nuclear power and electrification at the expense of oil demand. That is a bold claim in the middle of an oil crisis that has Brent trading above $105 a barrel and physical supply still constrained. Birol told The Guardian that the damage to confidence in fossil fuel security is permanent, and that countries exposed to the Strait of Hormuz disruption will rethink how much geopolitical risk…

International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol says the Iran war has permanently changed the fossil fuel industry and will accelerate a shift toward renewables, nuclear power and electrification at the expense of oil demand. That is a bold claim in the middle of an oil crisis that has Brent trading above $105 a barrel and physical supply still constrained. Birol told The Guardian that the damage to confidence in fossil fuel security is permanent, and that countries exposed to the Strait of Hormuz disruption will rethink how much geopolitical risk…

A shock oil price spike, after U.S. airstrikes on Iran, which sees Brent trading at over $100 per barrel, is giving hope of a recovery for Colombia’s beleaguered oil patch. Hydrocarbon production in the conflict-riven country is at multi-year lows, with adverse regulatory and tax reforms impacting investment in the economically critical sector. Nonetheless, higher oil prices and the prospect of a business-friendly candidate winning the 2026 presidential election offer a glimpse of hope for Colombia’s beaten-down oil industry. February…

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 Friday, bringing the total rig count in the US to 544,  down 43 from this same time last year. But the number of active oil rigs specifically slipped by 3 to 407 during the latest reporting period, according to the data. This is 68 below this same time last year. The number of gas rigs rose by 4 after falling by 2 in the week prior. Gas rigs now sit at 129, which is 22 more than this time last year.…