All posts tagged: supply

US Treasury Extends Russian Crude Waiver Amid Supply Disruptions

US Treasury Extends Russian Crude Waiver Amid Supply Disruptions

Published by Jenni Sidey

Authored by Kimberley Hayek via The Epoch Times, The Trump administration renewed a key sanctions waiver on April 17, allowing countries to purchase Russian oil stranded at sea, responding to urgent pressure from Asian nations battered by skyrocketing energy costs. The move also reverses a position Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had stated two days earlier. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued General License 134B on Friday, authorizing transactions tied to Russian crude and petroleum products loaded onto vessels as of that date.  The waiver runs through May 16 and replaces a previous license that expired on April 11. The move comes after Bessent told reporters on Wednesday the administration would not extend the earlier waiver, signaling what appeared to be a firmer stance on Russian energy exports.  “As negotiations [with Iran] accelerate, Treasury wants to ensure oil is available to those who need it,” a Treasury spokesperson said. The Russia-related license waiver excludes transactions to Iran, Cuba, and North Korea. Global oil prices tumbled 9 percent on Friday to about $90 a …

Record US Drought Sparks Worries About Fires, Water Supply and Food Prices

Record US Drought Sparks Worries About Fires, Water Supply and Food Prices

Published by Sam Flores

Drought in the contiguous United States has reached record levels for this time of year, weather data shows. Meteorologists said it’s a bad sign for the upcoming wildfire season, food prices and western water issues. More than 61% of the Lower 48 states is in moderate to exceptional drought — including 97% of the Southeast and two-thirds of the West — according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. It’s the highest levels for this time of year since the drought monitor began in 2000. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s comprehensive Palmer Drought Severity Index not only hit its highest level for March since records started in 1895, but last month was the third-driest month recorded regardless of time of year. It trailed only the famed Dust Bowl months of July and August 1934. Because of record heat, much of the West has had exceptionally low levels of snow in the first few months of the year, which is usually how the region stores water for the summer. A different drought — connected to the jet …

Hormuz domino effect: How the Middle East crisis affects food, flights and global supply chains

Hormuz domino effect: How the Middle East crisis affects food, flights and global supply chains

Published by Sam Flores

Iran announced Friday it was reopening the Strait of Hormuz for all commercial vessels for the remainder of a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, raising hopes of an end to the standoff that has rattled energy markets and sent global fuel prices soaring. Tehran had effectively blocked the strategic waterway, one of the world’s busiest oil shipping channels, since the US and Israel attacked the country on February 28. Washington hit back this week with its own blockade of Iranian ports, which US President Donald Trump said Friday would “remain in force”.  Closure of the strait has sent oil prices soaring to over $100 a barrel and gas climbing by more than 12 percent, in turn unleashing a domino effect of consequences – from kerosene shortages to a looming world food crisis. Here’s a look at some of the ripple effects from the Hormuz crisis. Read moreUS blockade of the Strait of Hormuz: What do the numbers show? The risk of kerosene shortages is greatest in Asia, and to a lesser extent Europe, as they both rely on oil from …

Russia offers China energy lifeline as Iran war strangles supply

Russia offers China energy lifeline as Iran war strangles supply

Published by Sam Flores

Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a reception, held on Victory Day marking the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, May 9, 2025. Mikhail Metzel | Via Reuters Russia has offered to help China with any potential energy shortfall, as the war in the Middle East heightens geopolitical divisions and threatens global commodity supplies. “Russia can certainly fill the resource gap that has arisen in China and other countries interested in working with us on an equal and mutually beneficial basis,” Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday, according to comments reported by Russian news agency Interfax. Russia’s top diplomat also commented on China and Russia’s ability to withstand the economic impact of “aggressive” U.S military operations against Iran, which have sent global oil and gas prices soaring. “Thank God, we and China have all the capabilities, both those already in use and those in reserve, and those planned, to avoid being dependent on this kind of …

Historic decline in U.S. overdose deaths threatened by changing street drug supply : NPR

Historic decline in U.S. overdose deaths threatened by changing street drug supply : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

A forensic chemist with the Drug Enforcement Administration holds vials of fentanyl pills at a DEA research laboratory in this file photo. Fentanyl deaths are plunging in the U.S, but the recovery is threatened by a new “synthetic soup” of toxic street drugs. Mark Schiefelbein/AP/AP hide caption toggle caption Mark Schiefelbein/AP/AP Earlier this year, Naida Rutherford, the coroner in Richland County, South Carolina, was helping investigate what appeared to be a mysterious overdose. The case had many of the hallmarks of a typical fentanyl death. “Every sort of physical manifestation, like the foam coming from the mouth and nose, as if they had an overdose,” Rutherford said. “Their blood tested negative for any substance, which was very odd.” Her team was stumped, so Rutherford expanded the testing, looking for new compounds. “That’s where we found the cychlorphine,” she told NPR, referring to one of the incredibly potent synthetic opioids spreading fast in the U.S. street drug supply. “This is the first time we’ve seen it in South Carolina, which is very scary because none of …

Hormuz closure threatens the global food supply

Hormuz closure threatens the global food supply

Published by Sam Flores

The global energy crisis caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is only the beginning of the economic cost of the war with Iran. I study how institutions affect businesses and supply chains, and I expect food prices to rise next, with high prices lasting even after whatever point hostilities end. Along with about 20% of the world’s crude oil trade and a similar share of the world’s liquefied natural gas shipments, shipping traffic through the strait also carries roughly a third of internationally traded fertilizer, which is key to bountiful crops around the world. Modern agriculture depends on precise timing of delivering nutrients to plants. When fertilizer arrives late or becomes too expensive to buy in sufficient quantities, farmers are left to either reduce the amount they use, plant fewer crops or switch to crops that need less fertilizer. Each option reduces overall productivity, cutting supplies of basic foods, feed for livestock and key ingredients used in a wide range of food products. Ultimately, with corn prices rising, summer barbecues may taste …

The world’s supply of helium is being threatened by the Iran war

The world’s supply of helium is being threatened by the Iran war

Published by skeptic

The war in the Middle East has disrupted the world’s supply of helium. Qatar produces about a third of global helium, but attacks on its gas infrastructure have forced production to stop. At the same time, Iran is blocking the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s busiest shipping channels, through which Qatar exports both natural gas and helium. Losing 30% of global helium could have major consequences for science, medicine and industry. Helium is used to cool the superconducting magnets used in MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scanners, which help diagnose conditions through high-resolution, 3D imaging of human tissues. Superconducting magnets enable the sustained, intense currents needed for high resolution imaging. A superconductor is a material that conducts electricity with zero resistance (defined as the opposition to current flow in a material). In order to do this, however, the magnets need to operate at extremely low temperatures. Helium is the ideal coolant for these magnets because it has the lowest boiling point of any element: -268.9°C. At this temperature or below, helium is liquid and …

The Iran War Has Cut Off Supply of a Gas the AI Industry Desperately Needs

The Iran War Has Cut Off Supply of a Gas the AI Industry Desperately Needs

Published by José Betancourt

Sign up to see the future, today Can’t-miss innovations from the bleeding edge of science and tech Forget gas prices and fertilizer. One of the biggest casualties of the US war on Iran could be your favorite AI chatbot. As the hare-brained conflict enters its fifth week, the tech industry is raising alarm about a growing shortage of helium, the odorless gas that makes birthday balloons lighter than air — and which, it turns out, is silently undergirding the AI boom. Per the Wall Street Journal, when the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps effectively shut off travel through the Strait of Hormuz in response to US and Israeli aggression, they also cut off nearly a third of the world’s helium supply. That’s because Qatar, the gulf state laying claim to the largest natural gas field on the planet, is responsible for 30 to 35 percent of the world’s helium production. Qatar, host of the US’s Al Udeid Air Base, is effectively a belligerent of Iran, meaning that until hostilities cease, that helium isn’t getting through. That’s …

Maersk Slaps Emergency Fuel Surcharge As War Upends Marine Supply Chains

Maersk Slaps Emergency Fuel Surcharge As War Upends Marine Supply Chains

Published by Jenni Sidey

Submitted by Michael Kern of OilPrice.com, The war in the Middle East has upended shipping fuel markets with prices of marine fuels skyrocketing and regions running low on supply, pushing some traders to forgo cargo and ship additional fuel volumes to key bunkering ports outside the Middle East. The price of fuel oil has surged this month as the stalled tanker traffic at the Strait of Hormuz is tightening supplies of the fuel in Asia, the key bunkering hub for fuel oil used in ships. The Middle East is a major global supplier of fuel oil, especially of high-sulfur fuel oil (HSFO). But the Iran war has all but halted traffic via the Strait of Hormuz, stranding supplies for Asia and its key bunkering hub of Singapore. Yet, stocks in Singapore have increased this month as shipping owners and operators have refrained from buying the too expensive fuel. These, however, could soon start to deplete, fast, because vessels are becoming desperate to refuel, according to a Financial Times analysis. One trader told the publication that …