Iranian crude oil has kept flowing through the Strait of Hormuz at near-normal levels, despite Tehran-linked attacks on ships that have slashed exports from other Gulf nations, according to a Reuters analysis of tanker tracking data.
President Donald Trump announced that his administration will tap the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to combat skyrocketing gas prices fueled by the ongoing conflict with Iran.
US President Donald Trump revealed plans to build a new oil refinery on the southern US border, backed by India’s Reliance Industries, the operator of the world’s largest refining complex, Reuters reported.
International oil majors, Chevron and Shell, are nearing agreements to expand oil and gas production in Venezuela, marking the first major deals since the US capture of President Nicolás Maduro in January, five sources familiar with the negotiations said to Reuters.
The potential agreements are part of a broader plan backed by US President Donald Trump to rebuild Venezuela’s oil sector through an estimated $100 billion investment effort after years of underinvestment and mismanagement under Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chávez.
Saudi Arabia’s Aramco has begun reducing production at two of its oilfields, sources said Monday, as disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz escalate due to the US -Israeli conflict with Iran. The company did not specify which fields or the scale of the cuts.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has urged countries to coordinate a release of emergency oil reserves during an online meeting with finance ministers from the Group of Seven (G7), according to Japan’s Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama.
Katayama said the agency had called on member countries to undertake a coordinated drawdown of oil stockpiles in response to current market conditions. She added that G7 countries agreed to continue closely monitoring developments in global energy markets and to take necessary steps to support global supply, including the possible release of strategic reserves.
Bapco Energies, a Bahraini energy firm, declared force majeure on its group operations following a recent attack on its refinery complex, the company said in a statement, reported by Reuters. The company said it had activated contingency measures to manage the situation after the incident affected its facilities. Despite the disruption, the company said domestic market requirements remain fully secured and that supplies will continue without interruption, supported by contingency plans already in place.
Iraq’s oil production from its main southern fields has dropped by around 70% to about 1.3 million barrels per day (mmbbl/d) as the country struggles to export crude through the Strait of Hormuz amid the ongoing Iran war, three industry sources told Reuters.
Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) has begun cutting crude oil production and declared force majeure amid ongoing disruptions to energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz as the conflict between US and Iran enters its eighth day.
QatarEnergy is offering ten liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers for lease that are currently positioned outside the Strait of Hormuz, according to industry sources, as the company deals with a production halt at its 77 million tons per year (mmt/y) facility after the escalation of the U.S.–Israel war with Iran disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
