In a significant development for global energy markets, Iran announced today that the Strait of Hormuz is now “completely open” to commercial shipping for the remainder of the fragile ceasefire period tied to the Lebanon truce. The announcement, made by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, comes amid ongoing U.S. naval restrictions on vessels calling at […]
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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 run on the California Globe, and we recommend following their productions. Californians consumed 484 million barrels of oil in 2025, with in-state production only providing 111 million barrels By Edward Ring, April 15, 2026 4:00 pm With war in the Middle East disrupting shipments of crude oil, we have another […]
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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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The AI-fueled data center boom is slamming into a hard reality: there simply aren’t enough transformers, switchgear, and other critical electrical equipment to bring the projects online. According to Bloomberg’s April 1, 2026 newsletter, more than half of the U.S. data centers planned for this year are now expected to be delayed or canceled — […]
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Goldman Sachs has issued a stark warning: if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed to normal tanker traffic for just one more month, Brent crude is on track to average more than $100 per barrel through the rest of 2026 — and potentially the full year. The note, released Thursday after a fragile two-week […]
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President Donald Trump dropped a bombshell yesterday in the White House Oval Office: Iran just handed the United States a “very big present” worth a tremendous amount of money. It wasn’t nuclear-related, he stressed. It was “oil-and-gas-related” and tied directly to the flow through the Strait of Hormuz. Trump called it a “significant prize” that […]
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The global agriculture sector is staring down a perfect storm of fertilizer disruptions, diesel fuel shortages, and skyrocketing energy costs—all triggered by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz following the escalation of conflict in the Middle East after “Operation Epic Fury” on February 28, 2026. What began as a geopolitical flashpoint has rapidly […]
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Energy News Beat Special Report – March 2026 Escalating conflicts have turned oil refineries into strategic targets worldwide. Ukrainian drone campaigns continue to hammer Russian facilities, while the 2026 Iran war (U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and Iranian retaliation across the Gulf) has triggered widespread damage to refineries, terminals, and related gas infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, […]
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The Iran war, now stretching into its third week with the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed since early March 2026, has delivered the largest oil supply disruption in history. Gulf producers have slashed output by at least 10 million barrels per day (mb/d), but the global shortfall is “only” 8–10 mb/d thanks to pre-positioned floating […]
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