China widened its trade dragnet on Japan Monday, adding 20 more entities, including units of Mitsubishi Electric, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Komatsu, to its export control blacklist. The timing undercuts Beijing's argument that Tokyo has nowhere else to turn. Three days earlier, Canada wrapped up its largest-ever trade mission to Japan with a pointed pitch: build the next critical minerals supply chain with Ottawa instead. International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu, who led roughly 300 delegates from nearly 175 Canadian companies and organizations…

Global oil prices have collapsed back to pre-war levels, trading down near $70 per barrel, with a potential peace deal between the U.S. and Iran helping calm global markets and prompting the removal of massive war risk premiums from energy valuations. However, oil prices edged higher on Monday, with Brent crude for August delivery climbing 0.74% to trade at $72.54/bbl at 9.25am ET, with escalating military tensions between the United States and Iran sparking fresh fears of shipping disruptions in the vital Strait of Hormuz. And now, ING Research…

At around the same time as OPEC raised its long-term oil demand forecast for the third consecutive year — now expecting global consumption to rise 19 million barrels per day (bpd), or 18%, by 2050 — Libya’s state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced that the country’s oil production is now at the highest level in 13 years. Its current 1.487 million bpd crude output is just a whisker away from the NOC’s short-term strategy of producing 1.5 million bpd of oil, which opens the way for the long-term strategic…

Philippines to the highest in the world since the Iran war began, according to customs data cited by Reuters. Amid soaring electricity prices and a supply crunch in fossil fuels, many Filipinos have opted to install rooftop solar panels over the past three months. The spending on solar panels in the Southeast Asian country, which has been one of the worst-hit Asian economies in the energy supply crisis triggered by the Middle East conflict, topped $407 million between March 1 and May 31, per China customs data compiled by Reuters. The Netherlands…

Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged what outside experts, many regional officials, and everyday citizens have already noticed: Russia is facing energy shortages, causing major problems for citizens and industries. "You are well aware that ‌problems for drivers and for businesses persist," Putin said on June 28. "Unfortunately, there are still lines at gas stations." "We have to reduce to a minimum the impact of terrorist attacks on our civilian targets and infrastructure," apparently referring to Ukrainian drone strikes deep inside…

Pakistan will raise its imports of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from Iran and considers the idea of importing cheaper crude oil from the Islamic Republic, Pakistani Minister of Petroleum, Ali Pervaiz Malik, has said. Pakistan, which is a key mediator in the U.S.-Iran negotiations, has kept close relations with Iran throughout the latest Middle East crisis, and has relied on negotiating directly with Iran safe passage of LNG carriers from Qatar bound for Pakistan during the crisis. Now that the U.S. has waived the sanctions on Iranian petroleum…

Pakistan will raise its imports of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from Iran and considers the idea of importing cheaper crude oil from the Islamic Republic, Pakistani Minister of Petroleum, Ali Pervaiz Malik, has said. Pakistan, which is a key mediator in the U.S.-Iran negotiations, has kept close relations with Iran throughout the latest Middle East crisis, and has relied on negotiating directly with Iran safe passage of LNG carriers from Qatar bound for Pakistan during the crisis. Now that the U.S. has waived the sanctions on Iranian petroleum…

Brent crude has fallen more than 20% in the past month, sliding from triple digits during the worst of the Iran war to around $72 a barrel today. WTI sits near $70. That kind of move usually means one thing: the crisis is over. It isn't, not quite. The Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint that carries roughly a fifth of the world's seaborne oil, spent nearly four months effectively shut after the U.S. and Israel struck Iran on Feb. 28. Iran mined the strait, fired on tankers and closed the lane to anyone it considered hostile. The U.S. and Iran signed…

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar continue loading oil and LNG onto vessels at their Persian Gulf ports despite the attacks on two commercial vessels near the Strait of Hormuz and the weekend tensions between the U.S. and Iran. The Middle Eastern producers are rushing to load oil and LNG while the Strait of Hormuz is formally open, even if traffic has slowed since Friday, due to the attack on a fully-laden oil supertanker in the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported on Monday, quoting ship-tracking data.   Iran is also observed…

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar continue loading oil and LNG onto vessels at their Persian Gulf ports despite the attacks on two commercial vessels near the Strait of Hormuz and the weekend tensions between the U.S. and Iran. The Middle Eastern producers are rushing to load oil and LNG while the Strait of Hormuz is formally open, even if traffic has slowed since Friday, due to the attack on a fully-laden oil supertanker in the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported on Monday, quoting ship-tracking data.   Iran is also observed…

After some persistent Sunday reports, including in The Wall Street Journal, said that last week's renewed tit-for-tat fighting between the US and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz had 'stalled' the next round of talks, President Trump stated on Truth Social Monday that a meeting on Iran would be held in Doha on Tuesday. He stipulated that Iran has requested the talks. "Iran has requested a meeting. It will take place tomorrow in Doha," Trump wrote on his social media platform in all caps. NBC notes in the immediate aftermath of the statement, "There…

Pakistan’s state LNG importer is urgently seeking to procure an LNG cargo for delivery this week, with offers due on June 29, as traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains volatile amid persistent threats to tankers and reignited U.S.-Iran tensions. Pakistan LNG, the state-owned firm, has issued an “urgent request” for LNG cargo delivery between June 30 and July 4, per a tender document cited by Bloomberg. The Pakistani dependence on Middle Eastern LNG created a major gas supply and power crisis in March and April, when no LNG…

Crude oil production in the Middle East rebounded to between 14.6 million bpd and 15 million bpd earlier this month amid the ceasefire between Iran and the United States, the Financial Express reported today, citing a prediction that full recovery to pre-war levels would come by the end of the year. The prediction comes from Rystad Energy, which said two days ago that it expected oil production to rebound to pre-war levels three months earlier than previously forecast thanks to the progress in peace negotiations. That was before reports emerged…

Crude oil production in the Middle East rebounded to between 14.6 million bpd and 15 million bpd earlier this month amid the ceasefire between Iran and the United States, the Financial Express reported today, citing a prediction that full recovery to pre-war levels would come by the end of the year. The prediction comes from Rystad Energy, which said two days ago that it expected oil production to rebound to pre-war levels three months earlier than previously forecast thanks to the progress in peace negotiations. That was before reports emerged…

China’s imports of liquefied natural gas this month are likely to be unchanged on last year’s, Kpler has forecast, seeing arrivals of a total of 5.29 million tons, as cited by Bloomberg. The June total, however, would be an increase on May LNG imports, which stood at 4.9 million tons, as demand growth intensifies, driven by air-conditioning in the summer. The May figure was a reversal of import trends from the previous few months, which booked a series of declines amid crimped supply from the Middle East that led to significantly higher…

Crude oil prices are in freefall after the United States and Iran agreed on a ceasefire, set to last 60 days. Traders expect the ceasefire to unleash an avalanche of crude, and indeed, tankers are leaving the Persian Gulf in growing numbers. And yet Iran just struck a commercial ship in Hormuz. Bloomberg reported earlier this week that the ceasefire prompted huge discounts in available crude cargoes, noting how Angolan crude was selling at a $10 discount to dated Brent—for the first time in a decade. Not only this, but Chinese refiners were…

For years, critics of the energy transition have made essentially the same argument. Renewable energy was supposedly too expensive, too dependent on subsidies, too intermittent, and too vulnerable to survive a serious energy security crisis. Sooner or later, they argued, governments and investors would return to the comfort of oil, gas, and coal. The latest figures from the International Energy Agency suggest the opposite is happening. According to the IEA's newly released World Energy Investment 2026 report, global investment in clean energy has…

In the age of the nuclear renaissance, several countries are strategising to significantly increase their nuclear energy capacity over the coming decades, as part of efforts to diversify their energy mix and boost long-term energy security. However, securing fuel to power operations has been complicated, particularly following the introduction of sanctions on Russian energy products. Now, alternative uranium fuels offer promise for the nuclear energy industry. Nuclear fission, used in all existing nuclear power plants, is the process in which an…

Beijing is positioning itself to lead the post-war reconstruction effort in Tehran - a move analysts suggest could secure China long-term access to critical Iranian oil reserves. The diplomatic groundwork was laid during a recent meeting in New Delhi between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and the deputy secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, according to Nikkei Asia. The talks underscore China's broader strategy to expand its economic and diplomatic footprint in the Middle East amid the vacuum left in the wake of one failed US…

Egypt has steadily been increasing its renewable energy capacity and has even bigger plans for the coming decade. While Egypt continues to rely heavily on fossil fuels, that could soon change thanks to high levels of private investment in green energy, supported by favourable national policies. Egypt has significant potential to develop its solar and wind energy sectors, thanks to its favourable geographical conditions, with abundant land, including arid deserts, sunny weather, and high wind speeds. The North African country has some of the highest…