https://oilprice.com/rss/main All the latest in Oil, Gas, Commodity news and analysis Thu, 16 Jul 2026 23:08:44 -0500 https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/The-No1-Commodity-Story-of-the-Year-Is-Flying-Under-Wall-Streets-Radar.html oilprice-article-44949 Cesium is an “obscure object of desire” in one of the world’s most tightly constrained critical mineral markets, where commercial production has historically come from only a handful of mines. The push to rebuild America’s defense supply chain has turned this rarest of commercial metals into a strategic priority. While cesium has occupied a rather quiet corner of the critical metals industry for decades, its scarcity and uncertainty are now drawing increased attention, given its role in American defense technology. Power… Thu, 16 Jul 2026 19:00:00 -0500 Thu, 16 Jul 2026 23:08:44 -0500 Michael Kern https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/China-Could-Be-About-to-Remove-Oils-Biggest-Safety-Net.html oilprice-article-44953 The oil market may soon run out of the supply and demand cushions that have kept prices from soaring to record highs during the huge loss of flows through the Strait of Hormuz. The window provided by the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding, during which Middle Eastern producers rushed the crude amassed in the Gulf in the previous four months out of the region, abruptly shut down with the renewed hostilities and all-but-dead ceasefire. Inventories of crude and fuels in key markets, including the United States, are running dangerously low with… Thu, 16 Jul 2026 18:00:00 -0500 Thu, 16 Jul 2026 23:08:44 -0500 Tsvetana Paraskova https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/India-South-Africa-To-Boost-Their-Strategic-Petroleum-Reserves.html oilprice-article-44954 Back in March, the 32-member countries of the International Energy Agency (IEA) agreed to a record release of 400 million barrels of oil and refined products from their emergency reserves after the Iran war disrupted global energy flows and triggered sharp oil price spikes. The United States did the heavy lifting, with the Trump administration authorizing the release of 172 million barrels from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), comparable to the 180 million barrels that the Biden administration released during the energy crisis triggered… Thu, 16 Jul 2026 17:00:00 -0500 Thu, 16 Jul 2026 23:08:44 -0500 Alex Kimani https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/IEA-Predicts-First-Decrease-in-Global-Oil-Demand-Since-2020.html oilprice-article-44940 Global oil demand could decrease for the first time since 2020, following months of oil trade restrictions in the Middle East and ongoing geopolitical turmoil, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on 10th July. This expectation is echoed in OPEC's most recent 2026 global oil demand growth forecast. The global demand for oil is expected to fall by around 1 million bpd year-on-year in 2026, which would be the first annual decline since that which was experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, according to a recent IEA report. The IEA… Thu, 16 Jul 2026 16:00:00 -0500 Thu, 16 Jul 2026 23:08:44 -0500 Felicity Bradstock https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Chevron-Moves-Closer-to-Iraqs-Biggest-Oil-Prizeand-a-Hormuz-Exit-Strategy.html oilprice-news-44954 Chevron is taking another step toward expanding its footprint in Iraq, and is set to sign two memoranda of understanding on Friday that will move the U.S. supermajor closer to developing the giant West Qurna 2 oilfield and the Nassiriya project. The agreements aren't binding, but they push negotiations forward on what could become one of Chevron's biggest upstream investments in years. West Qurna 2 is no small prize. The southern Iraqi field currently produces about 460,000 barrels per day after Iraq nationalized the asset earlier this year following… Thu, 16 Jul 2026 15:30:00 -0500 Thu, 16 Jul 2026 23:08:44 -0500 Julianne Geiger https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Yemens-Houthis-Threaten-New-Oil-Shock-as-Civil-War-Reignites.html oilprice-article-44937 Yemen's Houthi Rebels are threatening to make the global energy crisis worse at the same time that the nation's own energy security is in dire straits. After four years of an unofficial truce and precarious peacetime, Yemen has once again erupted into conflict this week. And this escalating tension comes on the heels of months of threats on the part of the Houthi rebels to fight alongside Iran, potentially making the region's waterways ever more impassable for the global oil trade. Less than half of Yemen's population has access to electricity,… Thu, 16 Jul 2026 15:00:00 -0500 Thu, 16 Jul 2026 23:08:44 -0500 Haley Zaremba https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Eni-CEO-Big-Oil-Bets-on-Southeast-Asia-and-Latin-America.html oilprice-article-44952 The oil and gas industry is shifting its capital investments toward Southeast Asia and Latin America due to prolonged shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, Eni S.p.A (NYSE:E) CEO Claudio Descalzi has revealed. Speaking to a parliamentary committee on Thursday, the leader of Italy’s Oil & Gas major says that geopolitics in the Middle East will remain a permanent risk even after peace is established, emphasizing that major producers like Russia and the Gulf nations are likely to face long-term supply constraints, fundamentally reshaping… Thu, 16 Jul 2026 14:00:00 -0500 Thu, 16 Jul 2026 23:08:44 -0500 Alex Kimani https://oilprice.com/Metals/Commodities/Government-Takes-Control-of-British-Steel-Citing-National-Interest.html oilprice-article-44936 The government has brought British Steel under state ownership after the steelmaker’s nationalisation passed a public interest test. The Prime Minister said the move “secured the future of British steelmaking”, and follows the introduction of fresh legislation that made it easier for ministers to forcefully nationalise steel companies. Scunthorpe-based British Steel has appointed a revamped leadership team that will focus on “stabilising the business and developing a commercially sustainable” future, the business department… Thu, 16 Jul 2026 13:00:00 -0500 Thu, 16 Jul 2026 23:08:44 -0500 OilPrice.com https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/EU-Sets-Target-To-Double-Electrification-Rate-Cut-Oil-Gas-Use.html oilprice-news-44953 The European Union has unveiled the Electrification Action Plan, aiming for electricity to account for 46% of total energy consumption within the bloc by 2040, effectively doubling the current rate. Spearheaded by the European Commission, the aggressive policy shift is a direct economic and security response to the energy fallout amid the Middle East conflict. Currently, ~23% of the EU's final energy consumption is powered by electricity, a level that has plateaued for a decade. In effect, Europe now considers electrification no longer purely a… Thu, 16 Jul 2026 12:30:00 -0500 Thu, 16 Jul 2026 23:08:44 -0500 Alex Kimani https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/India-Is-Becoming-the-Worlds-Refining-Swing-Producer.html oilprice-article-44951 For years, the world's swing oil producer has been Saudi Arabia. Need more crude? Riyadh opens the taps. Too much oil? Riyadh closes them. But while everyone has been watching who controls crude production, another swing producer has quietly been taking shape—one that deals in diesel, jet fuel, and gasoline instead of crude oil. It's India, and they’re taking charge. When Middle Eastern refineries were damaged during the Iran/US war, when Russian diesel exports collapsed under the weight of Ukrainian drone strikes, and when Europe found… Thu, 16 Jul 2026 12:00:00 -0500 Thu, 16 Jul 2026 23:08:44 -0500 Julianne Geiger https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Iraq-Shuts-Down-Khor-Mor-Gas-Field-Amid-Security-Threats.html oilprice-news-44952 United Arab Emirates’ Dana Gas has suspended operations at all main production facilities in the Khor Mor gas field due to credible security threats amid an increasingly volatile regional situation. The decision to close the facility was made in coordination with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Sulaymaniyah authorities, and the Iraqi federal government in a bid to safeguard personnel and infrastructure. The Khor Mor facility has previously faced repeated security challenges, including rocket and drone strikes from armed groups, resulting… Thu, 16 Jul 2026 11:30:00 -0500 Thu, 16 Jul 2026 23:08:44 -0500 Alex Kimani https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/The-Power-Vacuum-Creating-New-Trade-Routes-Across-Eurasia.html oilprice-article-44948 The results of Armenia’s parliamentary election in June dealt Russia’s bid to reassert its grip on the South Caucasus a serious blow, and the reverberations are not confined to Moscow, Washington and Brussels.  For Beijing and Tokyo, both of which have quietly built stakes in the region as an overland bridge between Asia and Europe, the election’s outcome, which reaffirmed Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s authority, carries real geoeconomic weight. Pashinyan’s decisive victory represents a clear popular rejection… Thu, 16 Jul 2026 11:00:00 -0500 Thu, 16 Jul 2026 23:08:44 -0500 OilPrice.com https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Iran-Instructs-Houthis-to-Prepare-Red-Sea-Shipping-Attacks.html oilprice-news-44951 Iran has instructed Yemen's Houthi movement to stand ready to close the Bab el-Mandeb strait, the vital gateway to the Red Sea, if the United States follows through on threats to strike Iranian power infrastructure. According to senior Iranian ‌sources, the Islamic Republic's leadership has discussed the idea with Iran's Houthi allies, with the rebel forces now awaiting definitive orders to begin targeting maritime traffic.  A source close to the Houthis has confirmed that the group has positioned stockpiles of drones and advanced missiles… Thu, 16 Jul 2026 10:45:51 -0500 Thu, 16 Jul 2026 23:08:44 -0500 Alex Kimani https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Could-Somalia-See-The-Worlds-Next-Major-Oil-Discovery.html oilprice-article-44950 As the Gulf (the world’s traditional energy centre) becomes riskier, the oil industry is searching for new hydrocarbon provinces. Much high-impact exploration is concentrated in Latin America and West Africa, far from Asia-Pacific, the main oil-demand growth centre. Somalia offers a different proposition: one of the industry’s hottest frontier wells is being drilled across the Arabian Sea and, if successful, could produce barrels that needn’t pass through the Strait of Hormuz. The Curad-1 exploration well was appraised after TPAO’s… Thu, 16 Jul 2026 10:00:00 -0500 Thu, 16 Jul 2026 23:08:44 -0500 Natalia Katona https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/The-Undisputed-Global-Oil-Superpower.html oilprice-article-44945 The newly released 2026 Statistical Review of World Energy reinforces a point that sometimes gets lost in political discussions about energy: the United States remains the world’s largest oil producer. But the size of the U.S. lead depends on what is being counted. When most people talk about “oil production,” they generally mean crude oil and condensate. That is the narrow measure most closely aligned with what the public thinks of as oil. But another important measure is total liquids, which includes natural gas liquids, or… Thu, 16 Jul 2026 09:00:00 -0500 Thu, 16 Jul 2026 23:08:44 -0500 Robert Rapier