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Oil and gas prices are hogging headlines, but while the world watches the Middle East, U.S. officials have been busy elsewhere. Chile, the world’s biggest supplier of one particular critical mineral, is in talks with the U.S. on a supply agreement for rhenium—an element seen as vital for national security. Rhenium is a genuinely rare element that has an extremely high melting point of around 3,180 degrees Celsius, which makes it extra resistant to both heat and wear, according to the USGS. This, in turn, makes rhenium highly prized…
China could come out on top – or at the very least vindicated – as a result of the United States’ and Israel’s war in Iran. As the world reels from skyrocketing oil prices and general energy market volatility, China is reaping the rewards of the huge energy stockpiles that it has been hoarding for years in case of just such a crisis. China’s ‘supergrid’ could not only buffer the world’s second-largest economy from energy market fallout, it could make China a major economic winner at the end of the…
While energy prices stayed steady in February, the numbers show that they were already on the rise even before the United States waged war on Iran. As the Strait of Hormuz begins its third week of closure to its myriad political adversaries, extending what was already the single largest disruption to global oil trade in history, we can expect to see skyrocketing energy prices over the coming weeks and months. And that means that we can expect political disruptions that last a whole lot longer. As the United States and Israel continue a bombardment…
In just over two weeks since the US-Israeli strikes on Iran triggered the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, more than 12 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) of Middle East oil and gas production has been taken offline, including 7 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude supply – equivalent to roughly 7 % of total global liquids demand. Iraq has been hit hardest, with over 60% of its pre-conflict volume curtailed. Still, the more alarming reality is that the worst is likely yet to come. Rystad Energy analysis shows that in a worst-case…
Previously, we reported that Pakistan could find itself sucked into the Middle East war thanks to the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement (SMDA) it signed with Saudi Arabia in September 2025. The core of the agreement states that any aggression against one country is considered an aggression against both, potentially requiring Pakistan to intervene against Iran’s missile strikes on Saudi Arabia. However, military confrontation with its southerly neighbor might turn out to be a less existential threat for Pakistan. Surging oil prices are already…
