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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The 2026 Iran conflict, which escalated in late February with U.S.-Israeli strikes and Iranian retaliation—including the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz and attacks on energy infrastructure—has triggered the largest supply disruption in global oil market history. Nearly 20% of the world’s oil and significant LNG volumes have been taken offline, sending Brent crude […]
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The Net Zero movement, long heralded as the inevitable path to a fossil-free future, has encountered a profound reality check. The 2026 Iran war—marked by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz—has triggered one of the most severe global energy crises in decades, disrupting roughly 20% of the world’s oil and significant liquefied natural […]
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An Energy News Beat Analysis of Volumes, Customers, Revenues, and Key Players Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven crude oil reserves — approximately 303 billion barrels — yet its actual output and exports have been a fraction of that potential for years due to decades of underinvestment, infrastructure decay, mismanagement, and shifting international sanctions. Oil […]
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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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In a significant geopolitical and energy-sector shift, the United States has directed the removal of Chinese contractors from maintenance and rehabilitation work at Venezuela’s El Guri Hydroelectric Dam—the third-largest in the world after China’s Three Gorges and the Itaipu Dam on the Brazil-Paraguay border. American engineering giants Siemens and General Electric (GE) have now been […]
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The global energy domino is falling fast — and it is carving the world into two stark categories: nations with enough fuel buffers, refining muscle, and diplomatic leverage to ride out the storm, and those staring down fuel rationing, failed harvests, and economic free-fall. One month into the Iran war, the closure of the Strait […]
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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 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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