Energy & Oil

• Friday, May 15th 2026 - 02:58 UTC

  Cuba accepts USD 100 million in US humanitarian aid amid energy collapse

  

  The Cuban government on Thursday accepted the United States' offer of USD 100 million in humanitarian aid for food, fuel, and medicines, in a significant political shift after weeks of public rejection and hours after authorities on the island acknowledged the complete exhaustion of their fuel reserves. The aid will be channeled through the Catholic Church, according to the official statement issued by President Miguel Díaz-Canel, who only the day before had described the US offer as “inconsequential and paradoxical.”

• Thursday, May 14th 2026 - 16:52 UTC

  UK ‘Zero Net’ Miliband’s policy questioned as a threat to British security, ‘China dominates all the green technology’

  

  The UK Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Ed Miliband has been accused of handing Beijing a “kill switch” over the British economy, after claiming that green energy will end the UK's reliance on Vladimir Putin’s Russia for its fuel needs.

• Friday, May 8th 2026 - 01:20 UTC

  Falklands brace for Middle East fallout with fuel, shipping and supply contingencies

  

  The conflict in the Strait of Hormuz and its consequences for the global supply of oil and other derivative products have not bypassed the Falkland Islands, which, as one local lawmaker put it, sit “at the tail end of global distribution.”

• Wednesday, May 6th 2026 - 01:45 UTC

  Just one day after its launch, Trump halts Hormuz reopening operation and turns to negotiations with Iran

  

  US President Donald Trump on Tuesday night announced the suspension of “Project Freedom,” the military operation launched barely 24 hours earlier to escort stranded vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, citing significant progress toward a peace agreement with Iran. The announcement, posted on his Truth Social platform, contradicted the messaging sustained throughout the day by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and Joint Chiefs chairman General Dan Caine, all of whom had framed the operation as a non-negotiable humanitarian rescue mission for stranded sailors.

• Friday, May 1st 2026 - 07:44 UTC

  Brent touches $126 amid US military plan for 'short and powerful' strikes on Iran

  

  Brent crude touched $126.41 a barrel on Thursday, its highest level since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, after Axios reported that the US Central Command (CENTCOM) was preparing a military plan contemplating a wave of “short and powerful” strikes on Iranian infrastructure to force Tehran back to the negotiating table. The price subsequently moderated to close near $114, a decline partly attributed to the expiration of the June futures contract, but the European benchmark has gained more than 60% since the start of the war against Iran on February 28.

• Wednesday, April 29th 2026 - 13:46 UTC

  US/Iran war lifting oil prices, but benefiting countries such as Australia, Norway and Brazil

  

  The US-Iran conflict has propelled currencies from energy-exporting countries into the limelight, with windfall profits from exports of oil, gas and metals helping them to outperform the US dollar.

• Tuesday, April 28th 2026 - 19:20 UTC

  United Arab Emirates leaves OPEC amid energy crisis fueled by Iran war

  

  The United Arab Emirates announced on Tuesday its withdrawal from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the broader OPEC+ alliance, in a decision taking effect on May 1 that constitutes one of the most significant blows to the oil cartel in its more than six decades of existence. The announcement comes amid the largest energy crisis in years, triggered by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz during the war between the United States and Iran launched on February 28, and on the eve of the OPEC meeting scheduled for Wednesday in Vienna.

• Friday, April 24th 2026 - 19:40 UTC

  Hormuz closure keeps Brent above $105 with outlook uncertain

  

  Brent crude closed on Friday at $105.33 a barrel, accumulating a gain of nearly ten dollars from the start of the week, in a market dominated by uncertainty over the US-Iran conflict and the prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The European benchmark crude touched $107.40 on Thursday — its weekly peak — before moderating its advance.

• Thursday, April 23rd 2026 - 11:51 UTC

  Iran attacks ships in Hormuz as Trump extends ceasefire without conditions and faces domestic backlash

  

  US President Donald Trump extended the ceasefire with Iran on Tuesday without setting a deadline, hours before his own two-week truce was set to expire without a deal. The decision came as Iran attacked two container ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, with the White House declining to characterise the strikes as a ceasefire violation on the grounds that neither vessel was American or Israeli.

• Monday, April 20th 2026 - 19:14 UTC

  Cuba confirms meeting with US representatives in Havana, insists on lifting energy blockade

  

  Cuba's government on Monday confirmed that a meeting with US representatives recently took place on the island, in the latest sign of a diplomatic approach between both countries amid a severe energy crisis caused by Washington's blockade of oil supplies.