https://oilprice.com/rss/main All the latest in Oil, Gas, Commodity news and analysis Fri, 07 Aug 2026 22:35:43 -0500 https://oilprice.com/Energy/Oil-Prices/Oil-Traders-Stay-Bearish-Despite-Deepening-Middle-East-Disruptions.html oilprice-article-45164 Despite continued hostilities in the Middle East and an expansion of the war to the Red Sea, oil traders have remained largely bearish on the commodity, betting on a quick peace deal—and they might get a nasty shock. Earlier this week, Brent crude sank below $80 per barrel, and WTI dropped below $75, after President Trump said peace talks between the United States and Iran had resumed, even though Iranian officials denied there were any talks in progress. However, Iran is negotiating a deal about control over the Strait of Hormuz with Oman,… Fri, 07 Aug 2026 18:00:00 -0500 Fri, 07 Aug 2026 22:35:43 -0500 Irina Slav https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/EU-Locks-In-Plan-To-Triple-Energy-Storage-Capacity-By-2030.html oilprice-article-45156 Europe desperately needs an energy storage revolution. As the region gets rocked by the third energy crisis in four years, the continent’s insufficient indigenous energy systems, and backups to those systems, has become abundantly and painfully clear. "We swore we’d learn. We promised things would change but here we are," a ‘highly frustrated European diplomat’ was recently (anonymously) quoted by the BBC in March.  As a result, the continent is now in an incredibly precarious position that could leave the bloc highly… Fri, 07 Aug 2026 18:00:00 -0500 Fri, 07 Aug 2026 22:35:43 -0500 Haley Zaremba https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/China-Is-Betting-on-Quantum-Tech-to-Fix-Its-Power-Grid.html oilprice-article-45154 Global energy grids are under unprecedented stress as energy flows become more complex with the addition of intermittent energy sources and the artificial intelligence boom drives demand to new heights. Managing variable inflows and outflows of electricity while also keeping up with data center hyperscalers will require expanding and enhancing the grid at an unprecedented scale. “Modernizing the grid to make it ‘smarter’ and more resilient through the use of cutting-edge technologies, equipment, and controls that communicate and… Fri, 07 Aug 2026 16:00:00 -0500 Fri, 07 Aug 2026 22:35:43 -0500 Haley Zaremba https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Energy-Affordability-Trumps-Climate-in-US-Midterm-Races.html oilprice-article-45162 Elevated US gasoline and electricity prices are seeping into the upcoming midterm elections in November. Candidates are prioritizing consumer affordability over the environment, with Democrats linking gas price increases to President Trump’s foreign policy decisions. Meanwhile, a debate over data center expansion and consumer rate impacts are forcing candidates to address infrastructure investment trade-offs. According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, US residential electricity prices rose 7% in 2025 versus 2024. Ratepayers in 46 states… Fri, 07 Aug 2026 15:00:00 -0500 Fri, 07 Aug 2026 22:35:43 -0500 Andrew Topf https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Russias-Labor-Shortage-Worsens-as-Central-Asian-Workers-Stay-Away.html oilprice-article-45153 The bad economic news keeps coming for the Russian economy. An analysis of Russian government data by the business daily Vedomosti shows that the influx of Central Asian labor migrants to Russia fell by roughly 15 percent during the first half of 2026,  deepening an already critical labor shortage in the country. Official entries for work purposes by Central Asian citizens fell to 1.9 million during the first six months of this year, down from 2.3 million the previous year, according to the Vedomosti report. A large majority of Central Asian… Fri, 07 Aug 2026 14:00:00 -0500 Fri, 07 Aug 2026 22:35:43 -0500 OilPrice.com https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Citi-Lifts-Brent-Outlook-but-Still-Sees-Oil-Falling-in-2027.html oilprice-news-45164 Citi has raised its third-quarter Brent crude forecast to $80 per barrel from $75 as the U.S.-Iran war drags on and repeated attempts at a deal fail to restore normal oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz. The bank still expects the conflict to be resolved, but the five-month war has lasted longer than Citi anticipated and kept more geopolitical risk in crude prices. Citi left its fourth-quarter Brent forecast unchanged at $70 per barrel and still sees the benchmark averaging $65 in 2027. Brent futures were trading at $83.11 per barrel on Friday… Fri, 07 Aug 2026 13:05:14 -0500 Fri, 07 Aug 2026 22:35:43 -0500 Julianne Geiger https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Norways-23-Trillion-Fund-Opposes-SEC-Idea-to-Rescind-Climate-Reporting.html oilprice-news-45162 The world’s biggest sovereign wealth fund, Norway’s $2.3-trillion Government Pension Fund Global, does not support the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) proposal to scrap requirements for climate-related risks and disclosures. The SEC in May requested input from investors about a proposal to rescind the Final Rules requiring registrants to provide certain climate-related information in their registration statements and annual reports. Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), which is commonly referred… Fri, 07 Aug 2026 12:30:00 -0500 Fri, 07 Aug 2026 22:35:43 -0500 Charles Kennedy https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/US-Oil-Drillers-Add-Rigs.html oilprice-article-45161 The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States stayed the same overall this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday, with the total rig count in the US staying at 588, up 49 from this same time last year. The number of active oil rigs rose by 3, reaching 454 during the latest reporting period, according to the data. This is 43 above this same time last year. The number of gas rigs fell by 3 to 124, which is 1 more than this time last year. Miscellaneous rigs stayed at 10. The latest EIA data… Fri, 07 Aug 2026 12:14:00 -0500 Fri, 07 Aug 2026 22:35:43 -0500 Julianne Geiger https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Is-Iran-Preparing-to-Permanently-Block-the-Strait-of-Hormuz.html oilprice-article-45160 Conflicting signals from Washington and Tehran keep oil markets on edge as Iran weighs a permanent Hormuz shipping ban while Trump insists a deal is within reach. Friday, August 07, 2026 The oil market’s very own schizophrenia – trying to read into the contradicting claims of US President Trump and Iranian officials seeking to escalate the blockade of Hormuz even further – continues to puzzle industry analysts and traders. Iran’s Parliament is reviewing a bill to permanently ban US, Israeli and other hostile vessels from… Fri, 07 Aug 2026 11:04:46 -0500 Fri, 07 Aug 2026 22:35:43 -0500 Tom Kool https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/ADNOC-Reports-15-Vessel-Attacks-as-Hormuz-Risks-Mount.html oilprice-news-45161 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company said attacks on its vessels and employees are having a significant impact on operations as the company tries to keep crude, gas and refined products moving through the Strait of Hormuz. Fifteen ADNOC vessels have been hit by missiles or drones since the war began, including three this week, the company said Friday. One crew member has been killed and 20 others injured. The Strait of Hormuz carried roughly one-fifth of global oil consumption before the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran expanded into a broader regional… Fri, 07 Aug 2026 10:45:00 -0500 Fri, 07 Aug 2026 22:35:43 -0500 Julianne Geiger https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Libya-Aims-to-Boost-Oil-Production-to-2-Million-Bpd-by-Early-2030s.html oilprice-news-45160 Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) is confident the country could raise oil production to 2 million barrels per day (bpd) by early next decade from about 1.4 million bpd now, NOC chairman Masoud Suleman told Bloomberg in an interview published on Friday. A 2026 unified budget for Libya, brokered with the help of the United States, gives the NOC a “lifeline” of more than $2 billion (13 billion Libyan dinars) as an operating budget, the official told Bloomberg. The national oil company did not receive any funding in the 2025 budget.… Fri, 07 Aug 2026 10:30:00 -0500 Fri, 07 Aug 2026 22:35:43 -0500 Charles Kennedy https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Saudi-Arabias-5-Oil-Detour-Is-Expensiveand-Worth-It.html oilprice-article-45158 The latest Saudi oil route looks absurd on a map. Crude moves west across Saudi Arabia to Yanbu, north through the Red Sea to Egypt, across the SUMED pipeline from Ain Sokhna to Sidi Kerir, then west through the Mediterranean before tankers sail around the Cape of Good Hope to reach customers in Asia. Oil that started relatively close to Asia first travels thousands of kilometres in the opposite direction. The detour reportedly adds around $5 per barrel once extra freight, fuel, insurance and pipeline charges are included. For a two-million-barrel… Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:49:00 -0500 Fri, 07 Aug 2026 22:35:43 -0500 Leon Stille https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/ADNOC-Buys-11-Supertankers-for-13-Billion-to-Expand-Export-Fleet.html oilprice-news-45158 ADNOC has bought 11 very large crude and gas carriers for $1.3 billion as the national oil company of Abu Dhabi continues to expand its fleet of supertankers to boost crude and LNG exports. ADNOC’s unit ADNOC Logistics & Services plc on Friday announced it had acquired five modern Very Large Gas Carriers (VLGCs) and six Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) for a combined investment of about $1.3 billion. Nine of the vessels, six VLCCs and three VLGCs, were acquired on the secondary market. They are scheduled for delivery this quarter and… Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:30:00 -0500 Fri, 07 Aug 2026 22:35:43 -0500 Michael Kern https://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/Europe/Ukraine-Faces-a-Growing-Air-Defense-Crisis-as-Patriot-Supplies-Dwindle.html oilprice-article-45148 Ukraine's failure to intercept a single Russian missile during a large-scale overnight attack this week has raised fresh concerns over Kyiv's dwindling supply of air-defense interceptors as Moscow escalates its ballistic missile strikes on the nearly defenseless capital and other regions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that deliveries of anti-ballistic interceptor missiles from partner countries have fallen sharply, leaving Ukraine vulnerable to deadly attacks that are being launched by Russia with increasing frequency. Following… Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:00:00 -0500 Fri, 07 Aug 2026 22:35:43 -0500 RFE/RL staff https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Saudi-Arabia-Pakistan-and-Turkey-to-Sign-Defense-Deal.html oilprice-news-45156 Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey are expected to sign on Friday a joint defense cooperation agreement amid the Middle East’s turmoil triggered by the war in Iran, Reuters reports, citing sources familiar with the plans. On Friday, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Jeddah for an official visit, the Saudi Press Agency reported. It wasn’t immediately clear what the commitments of each of the three countries will be in the joint agreement. The three mostly Sunni Muslim powers have been concerned over the turmoil… Fri, 07 Aug 2026 08:00:00 -0500 Fri, 07 Aug 2026 22:35:43 -0500 Charles Kennedy