https://oilprice.com/rss/main All the latest in Oil, Gas, Commodity news and analysis Thu, 18 Jun 2026 17:39:40 -0500 https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/First-Oil-Sands-Project-in-10-Years-Starts-Production.html oilprice-article-44693 The first new oil sands project in Alberta since 2014 has started commercial production, aiming for a daily average of 80,000 barrels once it ramps up. The Blackrod project, led by International Petroleum Corp., moved to the first phase of production despite the peak oil demand narrative that has dominated the past decade, especially in Canada. Canadian oil sands have been in the focus of transition attention as especially energy-intensive, meaning emission-intensive, and as a high-cost way of extracting crude oil from the ground. Under activist… Thu, 18 Jun 2026 17:00:00 -0500 Thu, 18 Jun 2026 17:39:40 -0500 Irina Slav https://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Wind-Power/Court-Ruling-Deals-Major-Blow-to-Trumps-War-on-Wind-Power.html oilprice-article-44690 Donald Trump has been battling wind turbines in the court of public opinion and in actual court for over a decade now. Trump has railed about “windmills” repeatedly over the course of his presidential term and campaign trails, calling the technology “so pathetic and so bad” before proudly declaring that no wind power will be approved on his watch. “I can proudly say [...] that we have not approved one windmill since I’ve been in office. And we’re going to keep it that way. My goal is to not let any windmill… Thu, 18 Jun 2026 16:00:00 -0500 Thu, 18 Jun 2026 17:39:40 -0500 Haley Zaremba https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Germany-Considers-Extending-Oil-Reserve-Relief-Despite-Falling-Prices.html oilprice-news-44693 Germany may be getting cold feet about ending its oil reserve waiver. Berlin said this week it is considering extending a temporary reduction in national oil stockpiling requirements beyond the current August 31 deadline, even as markets celebrate the U.S.-Iran agreement and the expected reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Officially, Germany insists there are no physical shortages. That's true. But governments generally don't keep discussing emergency measures when they're completely comfortable with the situation. Germany joined the International… Thu, 18 Jun 2026 15:30:00 -0500 Thu, 18 Jun 2026 17:39:40 -0500 Julianne Geiger https://oilprice.com/Energy/Oil-Prices/How-the-US-Iran-Deal-Put-A-Higher-Floor-Under-Oil-Prices.html oilprice-article-44692 Analysts are back to expecting a huge oil glut next year as they see the U.S.-Iran deal as the end of the worst of the Middle East crisis.    The deal is actually just the beginning of long processes of negotiations, a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, recovery of the more than 13 million barrels per day (bpd) of shut-in oil production in the Middle East, and a world so low on inventories – except in China – that refilling these will support oil prices for months to come. If the deal holds. Every assumption about global oil… Thu, 18 Jun 2026 15:00:00 -0500 Thu, 18 Jun 2026 17:39:40 -0500 Tsvetana Paraskova https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Shipping-Costs-Soar-as-Hormuz-Crisis-Reshapes-Global-Trade.html oilprice-article-44691 The Middle East war has upended global shipping, raising bunker fuel costs, altering trade routes, and forcing shippers and their container cargo customers to adapt to a new reality. Soaring costs of marine fuels have brought forward the peak cargo shipping season to the spring, ahead of additional fuel costs that vessel owners will roll into annual contracts as of July 1. As a result of the expected higher fuel costs and in anticipation of potentially higher U.S. tariffs on imported goods as of July, imports of container cargo volumes jumped at… Thu, 18 Jun 2026 14:00:00 -0500 Thu, 18 Jun 2026 17:39:40 -0500 Tsvetana Paraskova https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/OPECs-Oil-Demand-Bet-Is-on-India-Not-Europe.html oilprice-news-44692 Every year, OPEC releases a long-term outlook that says oil demand will keep growing. Every year, critics roll their eyes. This year, OPEC doubled down. In its World Oil Outlook 2026, the producer group said global oil demand will climb from 105.1 million barrels per day in 2025 to 113.3 million bpd by 2030 and top 124 million bpd by 2050. More importantly, OPEC says there is still no peak oil demand in sight. That's a bold claim in a world where EV sales dominate headlines, governments continue talking about net-zero targets, and energy transition… Thu, 18 Jun 2026 13:30:00 -0500 Thu, 18 Jun 2026 17:39:40 -0500 Julianne Geiger https://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/Asia/Azerbaijan-Moves-Into-Uzbekistans-Fast-Growing-Mining-Sector.html oilprice-article-44687 Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan are strengthening economic connections, signing a variety of agreements covering mining, banking and tourism. Uzbek Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ali Asadov, presided over a signing ceremony on June 16 in Tashkent of a cooperation agreement under which the two countries will jointly develop an Uzbek gold deposit as well as other mineral resources.  Ural Yusupov, Uzbekistan’s deputy mining minister, previously indicated that Tashkent was intent on conducting… Thu, 18 Jun 2026 13:00:00 -0500 Thu, 18 Jun 2026 17:39:40 -0500 OilPrice.com https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Oil-Prices-Are-Crashing-Inventories-Tell-A-Different-Story.html oilprice-news-44691 Oil traders have gone from pricing in the worst supply disruption in modern history to pricing in a recovery that hasn't happened yet. Inventory data suggests they’re getting ahead of themselves. Brent crude fell below $77 per barrel on Thursday, the lowest level since the early days of the Middle East war, after the United States and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz and launching 60 days of negotiations toward a broader agreement. The market's verdict was immediate: sell first, ask questions… Thu, 18 Jun 2026 12:30:00 -0500 Thu, 18 Jun 2026 17:39:40 -0500 Julianne Geiger https://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Nuclear-Power/Sweden-Picks-Rolls-Royce-for-First-New-Reactor-Since-the-1980s.html oilprice-article-44688 Rolls-Royce SMR just added its third major European contract. Videberg Kraft, backed by Sweden’s utility Vattenfall, selected the UK design for three units on the west coast, making it Sweden’s first new nuclear plant in more than forty years. The multibillion-pound export win, actively supported by UK government trade efforts, lands on top of existing deals in the UK and Czechia and makes Rolls-Royce the only SMR developer with multiple binding commitments across the continent. We tracked when the UK advanced its own program, Great… Thu, 18 Jun 2026 12:00:00 -0500 Thu, 18 Jun 2026 17:39:40 -0500 OilPrice.com https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/High-Tanker-Rates-Disrupt-Persian-Gulf-Oil-Shipments-to-Asia.html oilprice-news-44690 The biggest state-owned refiners in China and India have failed to procure supertankers to load crude from the Persian Gulf later in June as tanker rates are too high and guarantees on safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz lacking, Reuters reported on Thursday, quoting company and shipping sources.  In the past few days, energy giant PetroChina has received six offers in a tender to procure a very large crude carrier (VLCC) to load Basrah crude from Iraq. PetroChina did not like any of the offers as freight prices were triple compared… Thu, 18 Jun 2026 11:30:00 -0500 Thu, 18 Jun 2026 17:39:40 -0500 Charles Kennedy https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/The-AI-Spending-Boom-Is-Creating-a-Depreciation-Time-Bomb.html oilprice-article-44686 The eye-watering capital expenditure plans of Big Tech has been one of the year’s biggest stories.  Google, Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft have all splurged to secure a podium spot in the race to build out the infrastructure that will run the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution. Total capex by these four firms is expected to reach $750bn (£560bn) this year, around half the annual spending of the entire UK government. It is much higher than this high-tech quartet has budgeted for before. And it is expected to be even higher next… Thu, 18 Jun 2026 11:00:00 -0500 Thu, 18 Jun 2026 17:39:40 -0500 OilPrice.com https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Indias-Pump-Prices-Stuck-Even-As-Global-Crude-Crashes.html oilprice-news-44689 India’s fuel prices will remain elevated for some time despite the declining international crude prices, according to India’s Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Suresh Gopi. Indian drivers will not see immediate relief at the pump as fuel retailers will need time before starting selling cheaper diesel and gasoline, Gopi said on Thursday, as quoted by Indian media. There will be a lag between the current slide in international crude oil prices and the refiners and retailers obtaining the cheaper crude supply, the… Thu, 18 Jun 2026 10:30:00 -0500 Thu, 18 Jun 2026 17:39:40 -0500 Charles Kennedy https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Why-the-Moment-for-a-Deal-Could-Not-Be-Better-for-Iran.html oilprice-article-44689 Iran does not need a deal right now because its military or political room for manoeuvre has narrowed. It needs one because the crisis has turned oil (Tehran’s most important economic weapon) into a problematic asset. For years, Iran’s export model survived sanctions by leaning on China, discounted barrels, ship-to-ship transfers, and a shadow logistics chain running from Kharg Island to Malaysia, Singapore and China’s independent refining system. The crisis in the Strait of Hormuz has not destroyed that model, but it has hit… Thu, 18 Jun 2026 10:00:00 -0500 Thu, 18 Jun 2026 17:39:40 -0500 Natalia Katona https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/JPMorgan-European-Stocks-Are-Attractively-Cheap-After-Oil-Price-Slump.html oilprice-news-44688 Europe’s relatively cheap stocks could become attractive for investors as the oil prices plunged and markets hope the Hormuz crisis is over, according to JPMorgan. Assuming that the Middle East crisis has peaked and oil prices drop, investors are likely to return to their positioning from before the war, Karen Ward, chief market strategist for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) at JPMorgan Asset Management, told Bloomberg in an interview published on Thursday. Before the Middle East conflict erupted at the end of February, investors… Thu, 18 Jun 2026 09:30:00 -0500 Thu, 18 Jun 2026 17:39:40 -0500 Michael Kern https://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/Middle-East/Who-Would-Take-Irans-Uranium.html oilprice-article-44685 As negotiations over Iran's nuclear program continue, the fate of Tehran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium remains one of the most difficult issues to resolve. Before US and Israeli air strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June 2025, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) estimated that Iran possessed 440.9 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent. While not weapons-grade, the material is significantly close to the 90 percent enrichment level generally associated with the production of nuclear weapons. The question now confronting… Thu, 18 Jun 2026 09:00:00 -0500 Thu, 18 Jun 2026 17:39:40 -0500 RFE/RL staff