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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, July 11th 2026 - 19:53 UTC

Energy & Oil

  • Thursday, March 12th 2026 - 03:00 UTC

    Trump releases 172 million barrels from strategic reserve to curb fuel price surge

    The U.S. release is part of a broader package agreed by the IEA’s 32 member countries, which decided to make 400 million barrels of oil available from emergency reserves

    U.S. President Donald Trump has authorized the release of 172 million barrels of crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as part of a coordinated action with the International Energy Agency, in a bid to contain rising fuel prices after market disruption caused by the war with Iran. The Department of Energy said deliveries will begin next week and will take about 120 days to complete.

  • Thursday, March 12th 2026 - 02:50 UTC

    U.S. formalizes before court its recognition of Delcy Rodríguez as Venezuela’s state authority

    The filing comes just days after Washington and Caracas announced the restoration of diplomatic and consular relations

    The U.S. government has formally recognized Delcy Rodríguez before a federal court in New York as the Venezuelan authority empowered to act on behalf of the state, giving legal effect to the diplomatic shift toward Caracas announced last week. The move appears in a “statement of interest” filed on March 10 in response to a court order on who legally represents Venezuela in ongoing litigation in U.S. courts.

  • Wednesday, March 11th 2026 - 14:23 UTC

    Venezuela opens mining sector to foreign capital as US authorizes Minerven gold dealings

    The move gained momentum after a visit to Caracas by U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who arrived with more than two dozen mining and minerals companies

    Venezuela this week took another step toward opening its extractive sector to foreign capital, while the United States authorized limited transactions involving Venezuelan gold. The National Assembly approved on first reading a mining reform pushed by Delcy Rodríguez’s interim government, as Washington issued a license allowing dealings with Minerven, Venezuela’s state gold company, just days after the two countries restored diplomatic and consular relations.

  • Monday, March 9th 2026 - 17:04 UTC

    UK warns of higher inflation and backs oil reserve release amid Middle East war

    She also said London, one of the world’s main maritime insurance centres, was in contact with the sector as risks to commercial shipping increased

    British finance minister Rachel Reeves said on Monday that the United Kingdom was ready to support a coordinated release of international oil reserves if the Middle East crisis keeps pushing up energy prices, though no formal G7 decision has yet been taken. Reeves made the statement after joining a virtual meeting of G7 finance ministers, as oil prices remained elevated because of disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Reuters reported that the option under discussion is a joint emergency stock release under the International Energy Agency framework.

  • Monday, March 9th 2026 - 10:59 UTC

    Oil rises above US$100 a barrel as Middle East war and Hormuz disruption hit supply

    U.S. President Donald Trump reacted to the oil rally with a Truth Social post, saying it was “a very small price to pay” for “security and peace in America and for the world.”

    Oil prices climbed above US$100 a barrel on Sunday in futures trading, reaching their highest levels since 2022 as the war in the Middle East, the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz and fresh production cuts among Gulf producers tightened supply expectations. Reuters reported Brent rose as high as US$111.04 a barrel while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) touched US$111.24 in early trading. AP later put Brent at US$107.97 and WTI at US$106.22, both more than 16% above the previous close.

  • Friday, March 6th 2026 - 15:41 UTC

    Oil posts its biggest weekly jump since 2020 as the Iran war disrupts Hormuz

    The market is no longer reacting only to the fighting, but to the concrete risk to supply

    Oil became this week’s clearest barometer of the Middle East crisis, with Brent hovering near US$90 a barrel and WTI around US$87.5, putting both contracts on track for their biggest weekly advance since 2020. The same factor sits behind the surge: the de facto blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil normally passes.

  • Thursday, March 5th 2026 - 16:02 UTC

    Iran says it hit a US oil tanker in the Gulf and warns on transit through Hormuz

    The Guards also repeated a warning that, “in time of war,” passage through the Strait of Hormuz would fall under the Islamic Republic’s control

    Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Thursday that their naval force struck a US oil tanker in the northern Gulf and that the vessel “is on fire,” raising fresh concerns about maritime security tied to the regional conflict and the safety of the Strait of Hormuz—one of the world’s most sensitive energy choke points.

  • Wednesday, March 4th 2026 - 22:47 UTC

    US interior secretary highlights Venezuela’s mineral wealth, says cooperation has “no limits”

    Burgum said US mining-related companies are “eager” to begin operating in Venezuela and underscored the country’s “mineral riches”

    US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in Caracas on Wednesday that opportunities for cooperation between Washington and Venezuela “have no limits,” highlighting the South American country’s mineral potential during a visit focused on mining and access to critical minerals.

  • Wednesday, March 4th 2026 - 13:04 UTC

    Argentina hits oil output record on Vaca Muerta as Brent tops $80 on Iran war

    Official data put January production at 4,262,675 cubic meters, topping the previous high set in December 2025

    Argentina posted its highest monthly crude output on official record in January, at a time when global energy markets are again under strain from the Iran–Israel–US conflict and renewed pressure on key supply routes.

  • Monday, March 2nd 2026 - 21:16 UTC

    Revolutionary Guard say Strait of Hormuz is “closed”

    The Strait of Hormuz links the Gulf to the Arabian Sea and is critical for global energy exports

    Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Monday the Strait of Hormuz is now “closed” and threatened to attack any vessel attempting to transit, in the most explicit warning yet against the Gulf’s main maritime chokepoint. A Guards commander said they would set any ship “ablaze” if it tried to pass, according to remarks carried by Reuters.