The global energy markets are in flux as of mid-April 2026, shaped by severe disruptions from the ongoing Middle East conflict (centered on Iran and the Strait of Hormuz). This has curtailed roughly 7–10 mb/d of crude, NGLs, and refined product exports in March–April, triggering sharp price spikes and inventory draws. Brent crude averaged $103/bbl […]
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By RFE/RL staff – Apr 15, 2026, 1:00 PM CDT Cargo shipments through Iran are delayed for weeks, forcing costly overland rerouting and supply chain disruptions Shipping costs and energy prices are surging, putting pressure on households and government budgets across the region Landlocked Central Asian economies face rising inflation and slower growth due to their heavy […]
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ENB Pub Note: This article was originally posted on America Outloud by Ronald Stein and Yoshihiro Muronaka, and we highly recommend signing up and reading their material. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Recent calls for a more realistic shift from “decarbonization” to “low carbon” suggest that discomfort with ideology-driven climate policy is finally beginning to surface in public debate. […]
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In just six weeks, the global energy paradigm has flipped. What a decade of climate summits, net-zero pledges, and green industrial policy could not achieve, Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz—and the raw reality of AI’s insatiable power hunger—has done in a flash. Energy security is no longer a side note; it is […]
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In a striking display of America’s emergence as the world’s premier energy supplier, at least 121 empty oil tankers are currently steaming toward U.S. waters — with 68 of them Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), each capable of hauling up to 2 million barrels of oil. This surge, captured in real-time MarineTraffic data and highlighted […]
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With this wild group of 7 stories, and one from CENCOM, I needed to also have a subtitle of “these three key points: “Paper vs. Physical: The Fractured Oil Market” “When Energy Meets Geopolitics: A Perfect Storm” “The Hidden Risks in America’s Power Infrastructure” No deal – The negotiation team could not agree on […]
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In a sharp escalation following the collapse of direct U.S.-Iran peace negotiations in Pakistan, President Donald Trump has ordered the U.S. Navy to enforce an immediate blockade in the Strait of Hormuz. The directive specifically targets vessels that pay or attempt to pay illegal tolls to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which has been […]
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As of April 11, 2026, the global oil market is split into two. On one side sits the “paper” market — the futures contracts and financial instruments that most investors, analysts, and headline writers track. On the other hand is the physical, or delivery, market — the actual barrels of crude that refiners must load […]
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Geopolitical shocks are piling up on global oil supply, and traders are bracing for another wild session when Asian markets open in the coming hours. With the Iran war now five weeks old and fresh Ukrainian drone strikes hammering Russian refining and export terminals over the past four months, the question on every energy desk […]
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As the Iran war enters its fifth week and the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed, Goldman Sachs has issued a stark warning in its April 2026 report titled “Are We Running Out of Oil?” The bank’s analysts, led by Yulia Zhestkova Grigsby, conclude that the world is indeed facing acute physical shortages of crude […]
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