All posts tagged: Oil and Gas

Oil prices rise amid stalled US-Iran peace talks | Oil and Gas News

Oil prices rise amid stalled US-Iran peace talks | Oil and Gas News

Published by Sam Flores

Brent crude rises more than 2 percent after Washington and Tehran fail to hold second round of talks in Pakistan. Published On 27 Apr 202627 Apr 2026 Oil prices have climbed higher amid stalled peace talks between the United States and Iran. Brent crude rose more than 2 percent on Sunday after hopes for a second round of ceasefire negotiations between Washington and Tehran unravelled over the weekend. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list After easing slightly, Brent, the primary benchmark for global prices, stood at $106.99 as of 1:30 GMT. Stock markets in Asia shrugged off the impasse to open higher on Monday, with Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 and South Korea’s KOSPI gaining 0.9 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively, in morning trading. US President Donald Trump on Saturday cancelled a planned trip to Pakistan by his envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, after Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi departed Islamabad before any direct engagement could take place between the sides. Araghchi arrived in Russia’s Saint Petersburg on Monday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other officials as Tehran seeks a way …

Russian oil exports slump as Ukraine hammers ports and refineries | Russia-Ukraine war News

Russian oil exports slump as Ukraine hammers ports and refineries | Russia-Ukraine war News

Published by Sam Flores

Ukraine has succeeded in depriving Russia of much of the windfall profits it would have made from oil exports during March and April, as the war in the Gulf sent prices soaring to above $100 a barrel, a series of sources suggest. Ukraine intensified a long-range strike campaign against Russian port and energy infrastructure on March 21 in a calculated bid to prevent Russia from offloading oil onto tankers and to counteract the suspension of US sanctions on Russian oil, which had been in place since 2022. “In March alone, Russia’s oil revenue losses from our long-range capabilities are estimated at no less than $2.3bn. In just one month. We continue this work in April,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address on Sunday, April 19. Russia’s oil transhipments in March fell by 300,000 barrels a day, and refined products by 200,000 barrels a day, Ukraine’s foreign intelligence service cited S&P Global Platts as saying. The US waived sanctions on Russian oil in early March after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz to …

How long can Iran survive the US’s Hormuz blockade? | US-Israel war on Iran News

How long can Iran survive the US’s Hormuz blockade? | US-Israel war on Iran News

Published by Sam Flores

United States President Donald Trump has claimed Iran is “collapsing financially” and said the country is losing millions of dollars a day due to Washington’s naval blockade of Iranian ports. In a post on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday night, Trump wrote: “Iran is collapsing financially! They want the Strait of Hormuz opened immediately – Starving for cash! Losing 500 Million Dollars a day. Military and Police complaining that they are not getting paid. SOS!!!” Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list The US blockade of Iranian ports began at 14:00 GMT on April 13. Since then, the US has fired on and seized an Iranian-flagged tanker near the Strait of Hormuz, and redirected ships in the open seas carrying cargo to or from Iran. Iran’s armed forces have called this “an illegal act” that “amounts to piracy”. In response to the US naval blockade, Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz to all foreign shipping and has captured several foreign-flagged ships. Previously, it had allowed some ships deemed “friendly” to Iran to …

Americans should expect higher gas prices for ‘a little while’

Americans should expect higher gas prices for ‘a little while’

Published by Sam Flores

President Donald Trump speaks during a health-care affordability event in the Oval Office of White House in Washington, April 23, 2026. Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images President Donald Trump on Thursday said Americans should anticipate paying higher gas prices “for a little while” as a result of the Iran war, without specifying a timeline. But Trump said he is in no rush to make a peace deal with Tehran, while claiming the war has had less of an impact on both stocks and oil prices than he had expected. “I have to be honest, the stock market is at an all-time high right now. I thought it would have been down 20, 25 percent,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office who had asked how much longer the war will last. “I thought oil would go up to maybe $200 a barrel. And oil is a very different number than anyone thought,” Trump said. “In fact, this country is much lower [than others] because we have all the oil we can use.” Brent oil …

Lufthansa cuts 20,000 flights as Iran war causes jet fuel shortage | US-Israel war on Iran News

Lufthansa cuts 20,000 flights as Iran war causes jet fuel shortage | US-Israel war on Iran News

Published by Sam Flores

The German airline says 20,000 short-haul flights would be removed from its ⁠schedule through October. Published On 23 Apr 202623 Apr 2026 German aviation company Lufthansa Group says it would cut 20,000 short-haul flights up until October as the Iran war drives up oil prices and deepens worries that some countries may run low on jet fuel. Lufthansa on Thursday said it would cancel less profitable routes and focus on flights to and from its hub airports in Frankfurt and Munich, which could save approximately 40,000 tonnes of jet fuel. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list The German company previously said it would ground 27 planes in its short-haul CityLine subsidiary earlier than planned. The fuel crisis has been caused by the ongoing standoff between the United States and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway where one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies are normally shipped. The price of jet fuel has more than doubled in certain markets since the US-Israeli war on Iran began in late …

Gas prices may not drop under until next year: Wright

Gas prices may not drop under $3 until next year: Wright

Published by Sam Flores

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright appears before a House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy hearing on the Trump administration’s 2027 budget request for the Department of Energy, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 15, 2026. Nathan Howard | Reuters Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Sunday said gas prices may not drop below $3 until next year, as the U.S. war with Iran and closure of the Strait of Hormuz continue to wreak havoc on energy markets. “I don’t know, that could happen later this year, that might not happen until next year, but prices have likely peaked,” Wright said on CNN’s “State of the Union” when asked when prices at the pump will return to pre-war figures. “Certainly with a resolution of this conflict, energy prices will go down.” Wright added that “under $3 a gallon is pretty tremendous in inflation-adjusted terms. We had that in the Trump administration, but we hadn’t seen that in inflation-adjusted terms for quite a long time. We’ll get back there for sure.” Gas prices have spiked since the …

Iran closes Strait of Hormuz again over US blockade of its ports | US-Israel war on Iran News

Iran closes Strait of Hormuz again over US blockade of its ports | US-Israel war on Iran News

Published by Sam Flores

Iran says it has closed the Strait of Hormuz again, calling the decision a response to a continued blockade of its ports by the United States. The Iranian military on Saturday said control of the strategic waterway, through which 20 percent of globally traded oil transits, has “returned to its previous state”, with reports saying Iranian gunboats fired at a merchant vessel as it attempted to ‌cross. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list The closure of the strait came hours after it was reopened, with more than a dozen commercial ships passing through the waterway, after a US-mediated 10-day ceasefire deal was reached between Israel and Lebanon. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Saturday said in a statement, cited by Iranian state media, that the ongoing US blockade of Iranian ports represented “acts of piracy and maritime theft”, adding that the control over Hormuz is “under the strict management and control of the armed forces”. “Until the US restores full freedom of navigation for vessels travelling from Iran to their destinations and …

Shipping firms seek clarifications before crossing Hormuz | US-Israel war on Iran News

Shipping firms seek clarifications before crossing Hormuz | US-Israel war on Iran News

Published by Sam Flores

Shipping companies said several things had to be clarified, including the presence of mines, Iranian conditions, practical implementations. Published On 17 Apr 202617 Apr 2026 Shipping companies have cautiously welcomed Iran’s announcement that the Strait of Hormuz is open but said they would require clarifications, including about the risk of mines, before vessels move through the entry point to the Gulf. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday that the Strait of Hormuz was open to all commercial vessels during a 10-day Lebanon ceasefire accord, prompting a fall in oil and other commodity prices while stock markets rose. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list All commercial ships, including United States vessels, can sail through the strait, although their plans need to be coordinated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a senior Iranian official told the Reuters news agency. Transit would be restricted to lanes which Iran deemed safe, adding that military vessels were still prohibited, the official said. “We are currently verifying the recent announcement related to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, …

Trump faces tests from Cuba to the Strait of Hormuz

Trump faces tests from Cuba to the Strait of Hormuz

Published by Sam Flores

A man stands as a tugboat guides the Russian oil tanker Anatoly Kolodkin at the oil terminal in the port of Matanzas, northwestern Cuba, on March 31, 2026. Yamil Lage | Afp | Getty Images Energy shipments are increasingly being used as a foreign policy tool as the Trump administration attempts to hold down two blockades on opposite sides of the globe. The U.S., under the direction of President Donald Trump, has initiated a naval blockade targeting Iranian vessels in and around the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, seeking to put economic pressure on Iran and bring an end to the Middle East crisis. The move has prompted concern from China, given it has long been the largest buyer of Iranian crude, with Beijing calling the blockade “irresponsible and dangerous.” Iran, for its part, on Friday declared the Strait of Hormuz “completely open” to all commercial traffic in the wake of a ceasefire announcement between Israel and Lebanon. At the same time, the U.S. has imposed a de facto fuel blockade on Cuba, threatening to …

U.S. and Iran could meet in Pakistan for peace talks next week: MS NOW

U.S. and Iran could meet in Pakistan for peace talks next week: MS NOW

Published by Sam Flores

U.S. Vice President JD Vance, right, speaks during a news conference after meeting with representatives from Pakistan and Iran, as U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, left, and U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff watch, in Islamabad, April 12, 2026. Jacquelyn Martin | AFP | Getty Images The U.S. and Iran will likely return to Pakistan next week for a second round of peace negotiations, two senior Pakistani officials told MS NOW on Wednesday. The latest sign of the countries’ continuing efforts to reach a diplomatic end to the war came from officials who are involved in finalizing decisions with the U.S. and Iranian teams, but did not want to be named because of sensitivities around negotiations, MS NOW reported. The step toward resuming the stalled peace talks came as tensions in the Persian Gulf continued to rise, further imperiling a shaky two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran. Oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains at a trickle as Iran continues to pose threats to passing vessels and …