All posts tagged: TotalEnergies SE

Trump warns US could ‘take the oil in Iran’ as Mideast war escalates

Trump warns US could ‘take the oil in Iran’ as Mideast war escalates

Published by Sam Flores

Smoke rises from the direction of an energy installation in the Gulf emirate of Fujairah on March 14, 2026. Smoke could be seen rising from the direction of a major UAE energy installation on March 14, in what appeared to be the latest strike targeting the Gulf’s petroleum facilities hours after the US struck Iran’s Kharg Island. – | Afp | Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump said he could “take the oil in Iran” and seize Iran’s export hub of Kharg Island, as hostilities in the Middle East continued into its fifth week. Trump told the Financial Times on Sunday that his “preference would be to take the oil,” comparing it to the U.S. military operation in Venezuela earlier this year where the U.S. effectively gained control of the Latin American country’s oil industry, following the capture of its leader Nicolas Maduro. The Trump administration has weighed sending ground forces to the Kharg Island, according to Reuters, with one of its sources warning or such an operation being “very risky.” Tehran has the ability …

Israel says it has killed Iran navy chief

Israel says it has killed Iran navy chief

Published by Sam Flores

FILE PHOTO: In this photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, President Ebrahim Raisi waves as he visits an exhibition of the Revolutionary Guard navy capabilities while accompanied by the guard’s navy commander Alireza Tangsiri, in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, Iran, Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. Iranian Presidency Office | AP Israel’s Defense Forces said Thursday that Iranian naval commander Alireza Tangsiri had been killed in a “precise strike” in the port city of Bandar Abbas, accusing him of being responsible for efforts to close the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz. The IDF said in a social media post that Tangsiri “oversaw maritime terrorism carried out against countries in the Middle East, as well as against U.S. and other nations’ energy infrastructure.” U.S. Central Command later confirmed Tangsiri’s death in a post on X. Tangsiri’s death from the Israeli airstrike “makes the region safer,” said the commander of CentCom, Adm. Brad Cooper, adding that strikes on the Iranian navy would continue. Iran has not yet commented on the report. Shipping traffic through the …

UAE’s Fujairah hit, causing a large fire at the key oil trading hub

UAE’s Fujairah hit, causing a large fire at the key oil trading hub

Published by Sam Flores

A family sits against the backdrop of a dockyard off the coastal city of Fujairah, in the Strait of Hormuz in the northern Emirate on Feb. 25, 2026. Giuseppe Cacace | Afp | Getty Images A drone attack at the United Arab Emirates’ key oil trading hub of Fujairah triggered a large fire, authorities said on Monday, with no injuries reported. “Civil Defense teams in the Emirate immediately responded to the incident and are continuing their efforts to control it,” Fujairah Media Office said on social media, according to a Google translation. Oil loading operations at the major oil bunkering hub had been suspended as a result of the drone attack, Reuters reported, citing two unnamed sources. CNBC has contacted the UAE’s ADNOC and is awaiting a response. The attack comes after a separate drone strike and fire at Fujairah on Saturday, underlining the vulnerability of the UAE’s only export route that bypasses the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz. Shipping traffic through one of the world’s most important energy choke points has virtually ground to …

‘Don’t need to worry about it’

‘Don’t need to worry about it’

Published by Sam Flores

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday brushed aside concerns that the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz because of the Iran war, which has spiked oil prices, would continue being a problem for the U.S. and the world for much longer. Iran has been “exercising sheer desperation in the Straits of Hormuz,” Hegseth said at a Pentagon press briefing. “We have been dealing with it, and don’t need to worry about it,” he said. The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil on Friday morning was around $93 per barrel. A day before the war began on Feb. 28, a barrel of WTI was selling for about $67. Hegseth criticized media reports that claimed that before attacking Iran, the U.S. military lacked a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which is the world’s most critical oil shipping choke point. “Of course, for decades, Iran has threatened shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. This is always what they do, hold the strait hostage,” he said. “We planned for it. We recognize it,” Hegseth told …

U.S. Navy to escort oil tankers through Strait of Hormuz when possible, Bessent says

U.S. Navy to escort oil tankers through Strait of Hormuz when possible, Bessent says

Published by Sam Flores

The U.S. Navy will begin escorting ships through the Strait of Hormuz as soon as “militarily possible,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Sky News on Thursday. “That was always in our planning, that there’s the chance that the U.S. Navy or perhaps an international coalition will be escorting oil tankers through,” Bessent said in that interview. “My belief, that as soon as it is militarily possible, the U.S. Navy and perhaps with an international coalition, will be escorting vessels through,” he said. Bessent’s comments came as the Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed to shipping because of the war against Iran by the U.S. and Israel that began Feb. 28. The strait is the world’s most sensitive chokepoint for oil tankers, and its closure has caused crude oil prices to spike. The Trump administration, for more than a week, has suggested that U.S. Navy vessels would escort oil tankers through the strait without that happening. Earlier Thursday, Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC in an interview that the Navy is not ready to escort …

Three more ships struck in the Gulf as Iran warns of oil hitting 0

Three more ships struck in the Gulf as Iran warns of oil hitting $200

Published by Sam Flores

Commercial vessels are pictured offshore in Dubai on March 11, 2026. AFP | Getty Images Three more foreign ships were struck in the Persian Gulf overnight, authorities said, as attacks intensify on vessels sailing through or near the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz. The latest incidents come after three separate vessels sustained damage in Gulf waters on Wednesday and as Iran warns oil prices could climb to $200 a barrel. A container ship was struck by an unknown projectile about 35 nautical miles north of Jebel Ali, a major port city near Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) center said on Thursday. The incident caused a small fire onboard, and all crew were reported to be safe. Earlier, two foreign oil tankers were left ablaze in Iraqi waters after having been struck near the port Umm Qasr, near the city of Basra. At least one person was killed in the attack, according to multiple media reports, citing Iraqi port officials, and 38 crew members were rescued from the …

Cargo ship struck by a projectile in the Strait of Hormuz: UK

Cargo ship struck by a projectile in the Strait of Hormuz: UK

Published by Sam Flores

Naval units from Iran and Russia carry out to simulation of rescue a hijacked vessel during the joint naval drills held at the Port of Bandar Abbas near the Strait of Hormuz in Hormozgan, Iran on February 19, 2026. Anadolu | Anadolu | Getty Images Three vessels off Iran’s coast have been struck by projectiles, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said on Wednesday, the latest in a flurry of incidents reported in or near the Strait of Hormuz. One of the ships reported it had been struck 11 nautical miles north of Oman in the Strait of Hormuz, causing a fire onboard and forcing the crew to evacuate, the UKMTO said. Two other incidents were also reported on Wednesday morning, with one vessel struck by a projectile about 50 nautical miles northwest of Dubai and another sustaining damage off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. The UKMTO urged vessels in the area to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity while authorities continue to investigate. Shipping traffic through the strategically vital Strait …

Iran warns oil tankers transiting Strait of Hormuz must be careful

Iran warns oil tankers transiting Strait of Hormuz must be careful

Published by Sam Flores

MarineTraffic map showing current ships traffic on Strait of Hormuz dislplayed on a laptop screen and MarineTraffic logo displayed on a phone screen are seen in this illustration photo taken in Krakow, Poland on March 5, 2026. Jakub Porzycki | Nurphoto | Getty Images Oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz “must be very careful,” the spokesman for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned on Monday. The spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, also defended Iran’s attacks on Gulf states, telling CNBC’s Dan Murphy that targeting “military bases and assets” belonging to the United States in the region is “legitimate under international law.” The price of crude oil has sharply spiked past $100 a barrel as the Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed. “As long as the situation is insecure, I think all tankers, all maritime navigation, must be very careful,” said Baghaei, who is also head of the Center for Public Diplomacy. He said that Iran will fight against the U.S. and Israel “as long as it takes,” and that his nation is preparing for …

Energy prices will fall when U.S. destroys Iran’s ability to attack tankers in Strait of Hormuz: Wright

Energy prices will fall when U.S. destroys Iran’s ability to attack tankers in Strait of Hormuz: Wright

Published by Sam Flores

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright pumps gas at a gas station in Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S., February 27, 2026. Sheila Dang | Reuters Energy Secretary Chris Wright said oil and gas prices will begin to fall when the U.S. begins to knock out Iran’s ability to hinder tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, as Americans weather spiking gas prices due to the war in Iran. “The plan is to get oil and natural gas and fertilizer and all the products from the Gulf flowing through the straits before too long,” Wright said on Fox News Sunday. “We’re massively attriting their ability to strike with missiles and drones, and that rate of attrition will increase in the coming days. So we’ll be cautious, we’ll be careful, but energy will flow soon.” President Donald Trump was elected to a second term in the White House in part by promising to lower gas prices and defeat high inflation. He has frequently touted lower gas prices ahead of the November midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress …

Trump demands unconditional surrender in war

Trump demands unconditional surrender in war

Published by Sam Flores

U.S. President Donald Trump takes questions from the media during a bilateral meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office of the White House on March 03, 2026 in Washington, DC. Win Mcnamee | Getty Images President Donald Trump said in a social media post on Friday that there would be no deal to end the U.S. war against Iran without an “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER” by Iran. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped more than 900 points, or nearly 2%, after Trump’s demand, which he wrote on Truth Social. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite fell 1.6% each, and oil futures prices rose. Trump said that after a surrender and “the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s), we, and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before.” “IRAN WILL HAVE A GREAT FUTURE. “MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN (MIGA!)” Trump wrote, echoing his “Make America Great” movement’s name. Trump’s demand came …