Vessel traffic at the Strait of Hormuz remains well below recent averages as Iran and Oman discuss a temporary shipping corridor in the key chokepoint that could lead to a kind of ‘interim’ reopening.   Only five commodity vessels moved in either direction in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, roughly the same number as on Monday, but well below the 10-day average of 15 ships, according to ship-tracking data by Kpler as of early Wednesday. Two tankers laden with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and one carrying bitumen transited the…

Japan is today set to announce an energy import diversification plan that will include stipulations about support for pipelines in the Middle East aimed at diverting export oil flows away from the Strait of Hormuz. The plan also features a push to reduce the country’s reliance on oil and gas overall, and also reduce its reliance on Middle Eastern oil and gas specifically, Reuters has reported, citing Japanese media. The government also plans to make energy companies share the higher costs of importing crude from places other than the Middle…

Three Indian refining companies and “a global energy major” will stop using tankers included in a black list that Iran issued earlier on Sunday in response to U.S. sanctions, Reuters has reported, citing unnamed sources. The list includes 45 vessels that, according to Tehran, had violated its rules for traversing the Strait of Hormuz. The statement also warned Iran would take action against any of these vessels if they are used to carry cargo via the waterway. According to Reuters, the clampdown will affect so-called shuttles that the…

Crude oil prices dipped earlier today following news reports about Iran and Oman renewing their talks about joint management of the Strait of Hormuz, as those reports were taken to mean the waterway could soon reopen for normal traffic. Reuters reported that the two were discussing “a joint temporary navigational corridor” and clearing the strait of mines. As a result, Brent crude was trading at $86.69 per barrel at the time of writing, with West Texas Intermediate at $80.61 per barrel at the time of writing. Traders appear to have…

After decades confined largely to laboratories, nuclear fusion is beginning to attract the kind of money and industrial planning normally reserved for technologies expected to make it onto the grid. Global private investment in fusion hit a record $4.48 billion in 2025, up 69% from a year earlier, while some of the world’s largest energy companies are moving beyond simply backing fusion startups. Italian energy giant Eni S.p.A. (NYSE:E) now plans to deploy a commercial fusion power plant in Europe by the early 2040s or sooner, building on…

As Russia remains occupied with its war in Ukraine, Iran focuses on defending its territory against U.S. and Israeli attacks, and China maintains its involvement in both conflicts under the bar that would trigger direct conflict with America, Washington is leveraging its position in Iraq. These efforts by the U.S. and its allies have taken on further urgency as Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi announced last week that the country plans to raise oil production to between 8 million barrels per day (bpd) and 10 million bpd within six years -- so…

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States rose by 4.2 million barrels in the week ending August 21. Analysts had expected a 1.9 million-barrel build. In the week prior, US crude oil inventories fell by 328,000. Commercial crude oil inventories excluding the SPR have lost just over 45 million barrels over the last nineteen weeks, with US crude inventories up 5.8 million for the year, according to API data, kept in check by draws from the SPR. For the week ending August 21, another 3.7 million…

U.S. refineries have been running at full speed for months to make up for lost fuel supply from the Middle East. Fuel exports from the United States have been breaking records. This may be about to change, and not because of the war. It is oil sands maintenance season in Canada. In September, Canadian crude oil production may drop by 300,000 barrels daily due to maintenance activities in the oil sands, Rystad Energy said this week, as quoted by Bloomberg. Usually, whenever such a seasonal disruption occurs, it gets offset with crude from storage.…

Bloomberg's continuous front-month uranium futures contract (UXA1 Comdty) briefly surged above $100 a pound in late January, driven by tightening supplies, renewed government support for nuclear power, and rising electricity demand from the AI infrastructure boom. Uranium futures then retreated and remained range-bound between $84 and $87 for five months. But momentum has returned in August, with prices approaching $89 a pound, the highest level since early February. The ongoing theme is that years of underinvestment have limited mine supply growth…