US distillate exports at weekly and monthly record highs, leaving US distillate inventories at a 21 year low..

US oil prices fell for the first time in three weeks after Trump pivoted to public​ peace proposals in an attempt to push prices down after US gasoline prices hit a four year high….after rising 8.0% to $101.94 a barrel last week after Trump cancelled peace talks and began to plan a new attack to force Iran to negotiate on his terms, the contract price for the benchmark US light sweet crude for June delivery fell sharply on Asian markets on Monday, after President Trump signaled ​US steps to clear ​s​hips stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, easing concerns over ​ongoing oil supply disruptions, and were still slightly lower ahead of European markets opening​, as traders digested Trump’s comments that Washington would help ships leave the Strait of Hormuz​, even as Iran had rejected the plan, but jumped as markets opened Monday morning in New York on reports that Iran​ had fired warning shots at a U.S. warship trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, and were up by as much as 6% by midday after Iranian drones set a UAE oil port ablaze, and a South Korean ship in the Strait of Hormuz​ was hit by an explosion, and settled $4.48 higher at $106.42 a barrel as Iran escalated its military campaign, hitting several ships ‌in the Strait of Hormuz and setting a UAE oil port ablaze….​however, oil prices declined sharply on Asian markets Tuesday, falling ​a​s much as 2 per cent​, even as geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran persisted as the conflict entered its third month, and were down by more than 4% in morning trading in New York after the US said the ceasefire with Iran remained in place​, despite the exchanges of fire between the U.S. and Iran following the U.S. ​a​ttempt to reopen the strait for oil tankers and other ships, and settled $4.15 lower at $102.27 a barrel as two ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz and the ‌United States said the ceasefire with Iran remained in place despite exchanges of fire…oil prices fell for a second day in early Asian trading on Wednesday​, on expectations that the bottled up supply from the key Middle East producing region could resume flowing after US President Donald Trump indicated a peace deal might​ soon be reached to end the war with Iran, and had slumped more than 10% by the time Asian markets closed following reports that the US and Iran were nearing a deal to end the war that had strangled a fifth of global oil and gas supplies​ for two months. but rebounded in early New York trading after the EIA reported record US fuel exports, lower production, and another huge draw from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, then traded sideways for the rest of the session ​t​o settle down $7.19 at $95.08 a barrel​, as optimism grew about a possible end to the war in the Middle East after reports the United States and Iran were nearing an ‌initial peace deal….oil prices tumbled on Thursday morning as markets opened in Australia, amid hope that the US and Iran were near a peace deal to end the war that had stoked the biggest energy supply shock in history, and extended Wednesday's sell-off in early US trading on signs the U.S. and Iran were closing in on a peace deal which would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and settled 27 cents lower at $94.81 a barrel​, even after the market reversed course on a Wall Street Journal report stating that Iran rejected the U.S. proposal, and that Saudi Arabia and Kuwait had lifted restrictions on U.S. military access to bases and airspace…oil prices rose sharply ​a​cross global markets on Friday, with Brent crude futures jumping as much as 3%, after renewed military exchanges between the United States and Iran raised concerns over stability in the Strait of Hormuz and the durability of a fragile ceasefire, then steadied Friday morning in New York after U.S. President Donald Trump said shortly after the clash that the ceasefire remained in place, and called the U.S. strikes on Iranian ports a "love tap," and finished the session up 61 cents at $95.42 a barrel, as the market waited for the next steps in negotiations, and whether both sides would be able to open the Strait of Hormuz while they negotiate​d details of any lasting peace, still leaving US oil prices 6.4% lower for the week…

US natural gas prices, meanwhile, finished lower for the second time in three weeks on mild weather​ forecasts and lower LNG demand….after rising 3.6% to $2.780 per mmBTU last week after a cool shift in the early May forecast suggested a potential extension to the heating season, the price of the benchmark natural gas contract for June delivery opened 2.4 cents higher on Monday and climbed to $2.870 by 9:45 AM amid renewed geopolitical tensions with Iran, and settled 8.7 cents higher at $2.867 per mmBTU on a drop in well output over the past month, as the gas market followed ​t​he sharp rise in oil prices after Iran stepped up attacks in the Persian Gulf…natural gas prices opened 4.1 cents lower on Tuesday, as impending comfortable temperatures sent prices lower, and settled 7.9 cents lower at $2.788 per mmBTU on lowered demand forecasts for the next two weeks, with gas flows to liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants expected to drop during the usual spring maintenance season…June natural gas opened 4.5 cent lower on Wednesday and fell to the intraday low of $2.690 at 9:55 AM, as talks of a possible peace deal and comfortable temperatures led to bearish sentiment throughout the session, and settled 5.8 cents lower at $2.730 per mmBTU amidst a broad energy market retreat on US-Iran peace talks, while a deepening month-long slide in LNG feed gas demand added domestic pressure….natural gas prices opened 4.4 cents lower on Thursday and hovered near $2.695 ahead of the weekly storage report, as traders braced early Thursday for a potentially bullish inventory report (sic), then surged to an intraday high of $2.813 at 12:15 PM, as the storage injection came in below expectations and historical norms, then fought to retain momentum as the broader energy market leaned bearish, before settling 3.9 cents higher at $2.769 per mmBTU after the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a smaller-than-expected storage injection….natural gas futures traded in a narrow band near even early on Friday, as traders weighed Thursday’s bullish storage surprise against sluggish overall demand typical for this time of year, then forged ahead through midday as traders looked beyond light shoulder season demand and focused on signs of tightening supply in storage, but faded before the close to settle 1.2 cents lower at $2.757 per mmBTU as natural gas bulls looked to LNG risks as the shoulder season dragged on, and thus ended 0.8% lower for the week…

The EIA’s natural gas storage report for the week ending May 1st indicated that the amount of working natural gas held in underground storage rose by 63 billion cubic feet to 2,142 billion cubic feet by the end of the week, which left our natural gas supplies 75 billion cubic feet, or 3.5% above the 2,130 billion cubic feet of gas that were in storage on May 1st of last year, and 139 billion cubic feet, or 6.7% above the five-year average of 2,066 billion cubic feet of natural gas that had typically been in working storage as of the 1st of May over the most recent five years….the 63 billion cubic foot injection into natural gas storage for the cited week was less than the 71 billion cubic foot injection into storage that the market was expecting ahead of the report, and it was much less than the 104 billion cubic foot of gas that were injected into natural gas storage during the corresponding week of 2025, and also less than the average 77 billion cubic foot injection into natural gas storage that had been typical for the same late April week over the past five years…

The Latest US Oil Supply and Disposition Data from the EIA

US oil data from the US Energy Information Administration for the week ending May 1st indicated that even after a drop in our oil exports from last week’s record, we again pulled oil out of our stored crude supplies for the fourth time in eleven weeks, and for 24th time in forty-nine weeks, but by quite a bit less than last week, partly on a decrease in oil supplies that the EIA could not account for….Our imports of crude oil fell by an average of 273,000 barrels per day to 5,477,000 barrels per day, after falling by an average of 329,000 barrels per day during the prior week, while our exports of crude oil fell by an average of 1,688,000 barrels per day to 4,750,000 barrels per day, which, when used to offset our imports, meant that the net of our trade of oil worked out to an import average of 727,000 barrels of oil per day during the week ending May 1st, an average of 1,415,000 more barrels per day than the net of our imports minus our exports during the prior week (when our ​oil exports were greater than our imports for the first time since 1944)... At the same time, transfers to our oil supplies from Alaskan gas liquids, from natural gasoline, from condensate, and from unfinished oils were 6,000 barrels per day lower than the prior week at 593,000 barrels per day, while during the same week, production of crude from US wells was 13,000 barrels per day lower at 13,573,000 barrels per day.​  Hence, our daily supply of oil from the net of our international trade in oil, from transfers, and from domestic well production appears to have averaged a total of 14,893,000 barrels per day during the May 1st reporting week…

Meanwhile, US oil refineries reported they were processing an average of 16,029,000 barrels of crude per day during the week ending May 1st, an average of 42,000 fewer barrels per day than the amount of oil that our refineries reported they were processing during the prior week, while over the same period, the EIA’s surveys indicated that a net average of 1,077,000 barrels of oil per day were being pulled out of the supplies of oil stored in the US… So, based on that reported & estimated data, the crude oil figures provided by the EIA appear to indicate that our total working supply of oil from storage, from net imports, from transfers, and from oilfield production during the week ending May 1st averaged a rounded 60,000 fewer barrels per day than what our oil refineries reported they used during the week.  To account for the difference between the apparent supply of oil and the apparent disposition of it, the EIA just plugged a [ +60,000 ] barrel per day figure onto line 16 of the weekly U.S. Petroleum Balance Sheet, in order to make the reported data for the supply of oil and for the consumption of it balance out, a fudge factor that they label in their footnotes as “unaccounted for crude oil”, thus indicating there must have been a error or omission of that size in the week’s oil supply & demand figures that we have just transcribed….However, since 667,000 barrels per day of oil  supplies could not be accounted for in the prior week’s EIA data, that means there was 607,000 barrel per day difference between this week’s oil balance sheet error and the EIA’s crude oil balance sheet error from a week ago, and hence the changes to supply and demand from that week to this one that are indicated by this week’s report are off by that much, and therefore useless.... But since most oil traders react to these weekly EIA reports as if they were gospel, and since these weekly figures therefore often drive oil pricing and hence decisions to drill or complete oil wells, we’ll continue to report this data just as it’s published, and just as it’s watched & believed to be reasonably reliable by most everyone in the industry…(for more on how this weekly oil data is gathered, and the possible reasons for that “unaccounted for” oil supply, see this EIA explainer….also see this old twitter thread from an EIA administrator addressing these ongoing weekly errors, and what they had once hoped to do about it).

This week’s rounded 1,077,000 barrel per day average decrease in our overall crude oil inventories came as an average of 331,000 barrels per day were being pulled out of our commercially available stocks of crude oil, while 746,000 barrels per day were being pulled out of our Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the sixth consecutive Iran war related withdrawal from the SPR, following a nearly continuous string of weekly additions to the SPR from September 2023 to February 2026, which had followed nearly continuous SPR withdrawals over the 39 months prior to August 2023… Further details from the weekly Petroleum Status Report (pdf) indicated that the 4 week average of our oil imports fell to 5,649,000 barrels per day last week, which was 2.4% less than the 5,768,000 barrel per day average that we were importing over the same four-week period last year. This week’s crude oil production was reported to be 13,000 barrels per day lower at 13,573,000 barrels per day as the EIA’s estimate of the output from wells in the lower 48 states was 5,000 barrels per day lower at 13,156,000 barrels per day, while Alaska’s oil production was 8,000 barrels per day lower at 417,000 barrels per day...US crude oil production had reached a pre-pandemic high of 13,100,000 barrels per day during the week ending March 13th 2020, so this week’s reported oil production figure was 3.6% higher than that of our pre-pandemic production peak, and was also 39.9% above the pandemic low of 9,700,000 barrels per day that US oil production had fallen to during the third week of February of 2021.

US oil refineries were operating at 90.1% of their capacity while processing those 16,029,000 barrels of crude per day during the week ending May 1st, up from 89.6% the prior week, with the recent lower refinery utilization rate likely due to temporary shutdowns for seasonal maintenance, as refineries are being reconfigured to produce summer blends of fuel at this time of year….the 16,029,000 barrels of oil per day that were refined that week was 0.3% less than the 16,073,000 barrels of crude that were being processed daily during the week ending May 2nd of 2025, and was 2.3% less than the 16,405,000 barrels that were being refined during the prepandemic week ending May 3rd, 2019, when our refinery utilization rate was at 88.9%, which was below the pre-pandemic normal utilization rate for this time of year…

Even with the increase in the amount of oil that was refined this week, gasoline output from our refineries was somewhat lower, decreasing by 275,000 barrels per day to 9,563,000 barrels per day during the week ending May 1st, after our refineries’ gasoline output had decreased by 238,000 barrels per day during the prior week... This week’s gasoline production was 1.5% less than the 9,710,000 barrels of gasoline that were being produced daily over the week ending May 2nd of last year, and 5.6% less than the gasoline production of 10,129,000 barrels per day seen during the prepandemic week ending May 3rd, 2019….at the same time, our refineries’ production of distillate fuels (diesel fuel and heat oil) decreased by 24,000 barrels per day to 4,916,000 barrels per day, after our distillates output had decreased by 13,000 during the prior week.  After that production decrease, our distillates output was 5.7% more than the 4,650,000 barrels of distillates that were being produced daily during the week ending May 2nd of 2025, but 3.4% less than the 5,089,000 barrels of distillates that were being produced daily during the pre-pandemic week ending May 3rd, 2019....

After this week’s decrease in our gasoline production, our supplies of gasoline in storage at the end of the week fell for the twelfth week in a row, decreasing by 2,504,000 barrels to 219,795,000 barrels during the week ending May 1st, after our gasoline inventories had decreased by 6,075,000 barrels during the prior week. Our gasoline supplies decreased by less this week because the amount of gasoline supplied to US users fell by 291,000 barrels per day to 8,813,000 barrels per day, and because our imports of gasoline rose by 411,000 barrels per day to 755,000 barrels per day, while our exports of gasoline rose by 81,000 barrels per day to 856,000 barrels per day…  After forty-three gasoline inventory withdrawals over the past sixty-four weeks, our gasoline supplies were 2.6% lower than last May 2nd’s gasoline inventories of 225,728,000 barrels, and about 4% below the five year average of our gasoline supplies for this time of year…

Likewise, after this week’s decrease in distillates production, our supplies of distillates fell for the twelfth time in twenty-five weeks, decreasing by 1,294,000 barrels to a twenty-one year low of 102,344,000 barrels during the week ending May 1st, after our distillates supplies had decreased by 4,494,000 barrels during the prior week… Our distillates supplies fell by less this week because the amount of distillates supplied to US markets, an indicator of domestic demand, fell by 751,000 barrels to 3,362,000 barrels per day, and even though our exports of distillates rose by 266,000 barrels per day to a record high of 1,861,000 barrels per day, while our imports of distillates fell by 3,000 barrels per day to 123,000 barrels per day... After 22 additions to distillates inventories over the past 43 weeks, our distillates supplies at the end of the week were still 4.1% lower than the 106,708,000 barrels of distillates that we had in storage on May 2nd of 2025, and about 11% below the five year average of our distillates inventories for this time of the year…NB: our exports of distillates have also averaged 1,662,000 barrels per day over the past four weeks, the highest on record for four weeks…

Finally, even after a big decrease in our oil exports, our commercial supplies of crude oil in storage fell for the 11th time in twenty-six weeks, and for the 23rd time over the past year, decreasing by 2​,313,000 barrels over the week, from 459,495,000 barrels on April 24th, to 457,182,000 barrels on May 1st, after our commercial crude supplies had decreased by 6,234,000 barrels over the prior week….After this week’s decrease, our commercial crude oil inventories were about 1% above the recent five-year average of commercial oil supplies for this time of year, and were about 33% above the average of our available crude oil stocks as of the first weekend of May over the 5 years at the beginning of the past decade, with the big difference between those comparisons arising because it wasn’t until early 2015 that our oil inventories had first topped 400 million barrels. After our commercial crude oil inventories had jumped to record highs during the Covid lockdowns in the Spring of 2020, then jumped again after February 2021’s winter storm Uri froze off US Gulf Coast refining, but then fell sharply due to increased exports to Europe following the onset of the Ukraine war, only to jump again following the Christmas 2022 refinery freeze-offs, changes in our commercial crude supplies have been less extreme since, and as of this May 1st were 4.3% above the 438,376,000 barrels of oil in commercial storage on May 2nd of 2025, but were 0.5% less than the 459,528,000 barrels of oil that we had in storage on May 3rd of 2024, and were 1.2% less than the 462,584,000 barrels of oil we had left in commercial storage on May 5th of 2023…

This Week's Rig Count

The US rig count was up by one over the week ending May 8th, as the count of rigs targeting oil was up by two, the number of rigs targeting natural gas was down by one, and miscellaneous rigs were unchanged…for a quick snapshot of this week's rig count, we are again including below a screenshot of the rig count summary pdf from Baker Hughes...in the table below, the first column shows the active rig count as of May 8th, the second column shows the change in the number of working rigs between last week’s count (May 1st) and this week’s (May 8th) count, the third column shows last week’s May 1st active rig count, the 4th column shows the change between the number of rigs running on Friday and the number running on the Friday of the same week of a year ago, and the 5th column shows the number of rigs that were drilling at the end of that reporting period a year ago, which in this week’s case was Friday, the 9th of May, 2025…

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Tenaska Floats Plan for New 1.7 GW Gas-Fired Power in Ohio -– Marcellus Drilling News - Yesterday, Tenaska announced plans to expand its Tri-State Energy Hub project by adding a natural gas power plant in Saline Township, Jefferson County, Ohio. The new plant will be capable of generating up to 1,700 megawatts (1.7 GW) — enough to power approximately 1.7 million homes. The expansion builds on the company’s existing carbon capture and storage (CCS) hub, for which 30 carbon dioxide injection wells have already been submitted for approval (see Tenaska Set to Dig Test Well for Carbon Capture Storage in WV). Officials estimate the CCS portion alone could deliver a $1 billion economic impact, with additional job creation, tax revenue, and landowner payments expected.

Big Green Splashes Cold Water on Largest-Ever Gas-Fired Plant in OH -– Marcellus Drilling News -- President Donald Trump’s proposal for a $33 billion, 9.2-gigawatt gas power plant in Ohio—funded by Japanese investment, including SoftBank—aims to address soaring energy demands from data centers (see Trump Announces Largest-Ever U.S. Gas-Fired Plant Coming to Ohio). As the largest gas-fired power plant in the U.S., it promises a massive surge in electricity to the PJM grid. It also promises to use enormous amounts of Marcellus/Utica molecules to feed it. Needless to say, the environmental left is doing anything and everything it can to block the project. The left’s latest attempt is to badmouth the project, claiming it’s “too big to succeed.”

Gulfport Adds Extra Year of Inventory by Drilling Horseshoe Wells - Marcellus Drilling News – (click for larger version of diagram) Gulfport Energy is the third-largest driller in the Ohio Utica Shale (by the number of wells drilled). Gulfport released its first quarter 2026 update yesterday. The update was overshadowed by news that the company had hired former Expand Energy CEO Nick Dell'Osso as its new CEO (see Fired Expand CEO Nick Dell’Osso Becomes CEO of Gulfport Energy). However, yesterday's quarterly update included important news, including news about Gulfport drilling its first two "horseshoe" wells.

House destroyed in gas explosion  - A local couple are without a home and wondering about the welfare of their pets after a Thursday morning explosion damaged their house beyond repair. Karlee Davis and her boyfriend, Kolton Ensine, say they have support and a place to sleep, and their two dogs are safe. But their house was knocked off its foundation by a 10 a.m. natural gas explosion, and they don’t know the status of their seven cats. The house at 1018 N. State St. sits at the north corner of State Street and Gordon Street. Sources at the scene said a company was laying fiber optic lines along Gordon before the explosion. Davis, a social worker at Mercy Health’s new behavioral health center on Belmont Avenue, said she received a call at work at 10:22 a.m. from her veterinarian after one of her dogs’ electronic ID tags was scanned by Girard Fire Department. That’s when she learned there was a fire or explosion at the home, although the dogs were rescued. Davis said she felt bad for the lady who called her from the vet’s office because it must have been difficult to have to deliver that news. “Then I called someone from the fire department, and they said a gas line was hit and the side of my house exploded,” she said. “You would think I would know what to do in a situation like this but you don’t really know what to do when it happens to you.” On Thursday morning, Davis and Ensine stood with their family out front of Marco’s Pizza on State Street, a few blocks up from the house. Ensine’s grandmother was keeping their dogs at her house. At 3 p.m., Davis told The Vindicator that she was allowed closer to the house and emergency crews on scene placed a ladder up to one of the upstairs windows, and some of the cats could be heard inside the house, but would not come out. Because the home is not structurally sound, nobody can go inside. A former firefighter in northeast Trumbull County, and an insurance agent for Allstate, wrote the homeowner’s insurance policy for the house, and said she feels it’s most likely a total loss. Mike Scoville, a city employee in the Water and Wastewater Department, said the blast happened about 30 minutes after the city received the call about the gas line damage. He said he was standing at the corner with a police officer and two firefighters, waiting for Enbridge to come address the damaged gas line, when the south side of the house exploded, sending him and the other men sprawling. By 1 p.m. the Ohio State Fire Marshal was on-site and the gas to the neighborhood had been shut off to eliminate any further risk to local homes and businesses. Girard Fire Chief Jim Petruzzi verified what Scoville said, and noted that one firefighter and a Girard police officer were taken to the hospital after the blast but have since been evaluated and released. He said the house blew out from both sides and there was a considerable fire burning in the basement when first responders arrived. “There was heavy fire in the basement when we arrived, but we were able to put it out from outside,” he said. “Due to the instability of the structure, we moved to a defensive approach and did everything we could from outside the house.” Petruzzi said it seems likely that at least some of Davis and Ensine’s cats did not survive. Petruzzi said that Lumos Networks has been installing fiber optic lines in the area. “Their investigators and Enbridge’s investigators are working to pinpoint the actual cause of this. They will see if the boring happened in the correct place, and if things were parked correctly,” Petruzzi said. “Until the gas company digs up the road and sees the path that was taken, we don’t know. We cannot just point the finger at Lumos and place blame on them.” He said the fire marshal and Public Utilities Commission of Ohio will work with Enbridge and Lumos to investigate the incident.

Enbridge: Residents allowed to return home following house explosion – WFMJ Anyone who lives on Smithsonian Street is allowed to return home, but those living on Gordon are still under an evacuation order at this time. - North State Street, Gordon Street and State Street in Girard have reopened completely following a house explosion in the area Thursday morning. Police personnel with the Girard Police Department told 21 News around 9:30 p.m. that State Street has completely reopened. A home at the corner of Gordon Street blew up and caught fire just after 10 a.m. Thursday. A call log from Trumbull County Dispatch says EMS crews were called to the scene for possible traumatic injuries. Firefighters from Girard, Weathersfield Township, McDonald, Liberty Township and Hubbard all responded. First responders were going door-to-door evacuating the neighborhood. Girard Fire Chief James Petruzzi says a two-tenths-of-a-mile perimeter had been set near the scene. The homeowners were told that the evacuation order could last anywhere between an hour to 10 hours. As of 3:15 p.m., North State Street has reopened to north and southbound traffic. As of information from the Girard Police Department, Enbridge Gas has reopened Gordon Street as of 8:45 p.m. As for residents, police say that Enbridge Gas has completely lifted the evacuation order for the rest of the residents within the original evacuation area, shown below. According to a news release, all gas appliances must be turned on by Enbridge personnel. Residents are told not to attempt to restore gas services or operate these appliances by themselves. The explosion was reported less than half an hour after a crew digging in the area reported puncturing a gas line. However, Chief Petruzzi says an official cause is unconfirmed.A photo sent to 21 News by a viewer shows that part of the lower left side of the house was impacted by the explosion. No one was home at the time of the explosion, but two dogs, one of them being a service dog, were taken from the home and are now in the care of another family member.

Strs Ohio Has $1.10 Million Position in ONEOK, Inc. -Strs Ohio( State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio) trimmed its position in ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE - Free Report) by 86.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,969 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 93,974 shares during the period. Strs Ohio's holdings in ONEOK were worth $1,100,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. ONEOK, Inc is a publicly traded midstream energy company headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The company owns and operates a portfolio of natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) pipelines, processing facilities, fractionators and storage and terminal assets. Its operations are focused on gathering, processing, transporting, fractionating and marketing NGLs and interstate natural gas, providing critical infrastructure that connects hydrocarbon production to refineries, petrochemical plants and other end markets. ONEOK's asset base includes pipeline systems and processing plants that move and condition natural gas, along with infrastructure for the transportation, storage and fractionation of NGLs such as ethane, propane and butane.

Ares Mgmt Buys Blackstone's Entire 32.4% Stake in Rover Pipeline – Marcellus Drilling News -- The Rover Pipeline is a 711-mile, $6.3 billion natural gas transmission pipeline operated by Energy Transfer, transporting up to 3.25 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of Marcellus and Utica Shale gas. It connects supply areas in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio to markets in the Midwest, Great Lakes, and Canada. As of April 29, 2026, Blackstone (via its Energy Transition Partners funds) has sold its entire 32.4% ownership stake in Rover to Ares Management. Blackstone originally acquired its ownership stake in 2017 to fund the construction of the pipeline.

DT Midstream Adds M-U Pipeline Expansions, NEXUS Interconnect -– Marcellus Drilling News - DT Midstream (DTM) is an owner, operator, and developer of natural gas interstate and intrastate pipelines, storage and gathering systems, compression, treatment, and surface facilities, including major assets that are in (or flow molecules from) the Marcellus/Utica. Last week, the company issued its first quarter 2026 update. CEO David Slater announced two new projects to expand pipelines that carry Marcellus/Utica molecules. He also announced a project to build a new lateral to an Indiana power plant and a new interconnect that flows more M-U molecules into the NEXUS pipeline. Great things are happening at DTM!

TC Energy Announces $1.5B Expansion to Columbia Gas for Powergen-– Marcellus Drilling News -- Last Friday, TC Energy reported a robust first quarter in 2026, highlighted by a 14% increase in comparable EBITDA to $3.1 billion and record delivery volumes across its North American pipeline network. For the Marcellus and Utica shale region, the standout development is the newly announced $1.5 billion Appalachia Supply Project on the Columbia Gas system. Slated for 2030, this expansion will add 0.8 Bcf/d of takeaway capacity to meet surging electricity and data center demand. Appalachia is explicitly identified as a major contributor to the growth in U.S. natural gas production, and is expected to account for over 55% of the growth by 2035.

Q1 2026 Earnings Calls: CNX Resources Drilling Longer Laterals | RBN Energy  -Appalachian gas producer CNX Resources issued its quarterly earnings report last week. The report noted that the company had reached two operational milestones in the past quarter: drilling one lateral that reached 23,369 feet and also setting “a company daily drilling record of 9,252 feet of lateral in 24 hours.” CNX is trumpeting the increasing length of its laterals to extract more gas per well. However, in view of low current market prices, the firm is maintaining its previous target to have 1.5 rigs and a partial year frac crew to maintain production at the current level.  In the earnings call, CNX acknowledged that it has been conducting more long-term hedging recently in response to changes in the futures market. CFO Everett Good said that as basis differentials have tightened, the company is able to get “a better all-in realized price in… the Cal ’28 market.” CNX’s CEO Alan Shepard noted that potential gas purchasers have recently announced “mind-boggling” projects that will create opportunities for companies that have the “resource depth and creditworthiness to enter into long-term arrangements.” However, he is “pretty agnostic” as to whether those projects will be more common in Ohio or Pennsylvania and said that this matters less to producers because they can “wheel gas around” between the two states easily. CNX believes that as a producer they can benefit from projects on either side of the border.

CNX Resources (CNX) Provides Insights on Utica Program and Financial Strategies - On April 30, 2026, CNX Resources Corp CNX held its earnings call, where CEO Alan Shepard provided insights into the company's ongoing Utica program and strategic capital allocation. During the call, it was revealed that production results are still forthcoming, with expectations aligning with reservoir performance. A comprehensive update is anticipated by late 2026 or early 2027. CFO Everett Good also reported a successful refinancing of 2029 notes into new 8-year notes at a rate of 5 and 7/8%, underscoring the company's proactive financial management.

• CNX Resources has a market capitalization of approximately $5.49 billion.
• GF Score™: 74/100, indicating a solid overall performance in key financial metrics.
• Insider activity shows a recent sell of $1.9 million worth of shares, with no insider buying reported in the last three months.

The recent earnings call highlighted CNX Resources' focus on its Utica program, which is critical for the company's growth strategy. CEO Alan Shepard's comments suggest that while production results are still pending, the company remains optimistic about aligning with reservoir performance. The strategic decision to allocate capital towards the Marcellus region reflects the company's emphasis on leveraging existing infrastructure, which is vital for operational efficiency. The anticipated update later this year or early next year could provide investors with more clarity on the company's future production capabilities. CNX Resources Corp is an independent natural gas development, production, midstream, and technology company primarily focused on the Appalachian Basin. With a market cap of $5.49 billion, the company operates mainly in the Marcellus and Utica shale formations across Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia. The majority of its revenue is derived from the Shale segment, making it a significant player in the oil and gas industry.

Natural Gas Producer Achieves Record Production and Free Cash Flow -  A major natural gas producer achieved record-breaking operational and financial results during the first quarter of 2026, driven by the successful integration of its HG acquisition and strong uptime during winter storm Fern. As reported by Detik Finance, the company reached a production milestone of 3.9 Bcfe per day.“As highlighted on Slide 3, our team’s efforts and strong pricing helped us deliver one of the best quarterly results in company history. Also as highlighted on the slide, we closed on the HG acquisition and the Ohio Utica shale divestiture. The HG acquisition added substantial production, cash flow, and nearly 400 thousand net acres and 400 drilling locations to our core West Virginia Marcellus position." said Michael N. Kennedy, Chief Executive Officer. The company successfully lowered its breakeven costs by $0.30 per Mcfe through the acquisition and initiated production on its first HG-integrated pad. This six-well facility in a liquids-rich area features lateral lengths exceeding 18,000 feet and maintains a high net royalty interest of 89%. "Importantly, the acquisition will drive corporate cash costs down $0.30 per Mcfe, which lowers our breakeven cost and drives margin enhancement. Turning to the integration of HG, we are significantly ahead of schedule. We recently turned in line our first HG pad. This six-well pad located in the liquids-rich area has 110 thousand total lateral feet, or average lateral lengths over 18 thousand feet per well. Notably, this pad has one of the highest net royalty interests at 89%, further enhancing its rate of return. We expect the pad to produce $150 million per day and remain flat at these levels for quite some time." said Michael N. Kennedy, Chief Executive Officer. Operational synergies from the acquired assets are now projected to reach over $80 million for the full year, surpassing the initial $50 million forecast. These gains resulted from optimized drilling designs and water handling along with enhanced economies of scale."On the acquired assets, we have already achieved operating synergies of $15 million to $20 million and are now forecasting over $80 million for the full year, outpacing our initial target of $50 million. Once we closed on the acquisition and took control of operations, we found incremental cost-saving opportunities, which include drilling and completion design changes, water handling optimization, and benefits from our economies of scale that are driving faster-than-forecasted synergies. Our first quarter production was a record 3.9 Bcfe per day, 13% above the year-ago period. This production growth is expected to continue through 2026 with full-year production of 4.1 Bcfe per day, a nearly 20% increase from 2025." said Michael N. Kennedy, Chief Executive Officer.  Financial performance was bolstered by the company's ability to secure pricing premiums above industry benchmarks, leading to $657 million in free cash flow. This liquidity allowed for aggressive debt reduction that exceeded initial management targets by $250 million. "Turning to the right-hand side of the slide, our quarterly financial results were highlighted by our ability to capture substantial premiums to benchmark prices. These high premiums, combined with our operational performance, generated free cash flow of $657 million, the second-highest level in our company history. We used this free cash flow to accelerate debt reduction following the HG acquisition. At the time of the acquisition announcement, we had targeted free cash flow available to fund the acquisition from December through the end of the first quarter to be approximately $500 million. We exceeded this target by $250 million." said Michael N. Kennedy, Chief Executive Officer. (NB: AI written article neglects to mention Antero, the company’s name)

Q1 2026 Earnings Calls: EOG Shifts Towards Permian and Utica and Away from Dorado Dry-Gas | RBN Energy -EOG in their Q1 2026 earnings call kept its 2026 capital budget flat at $6.5 billion but raised oil guidance by 2 Mb/d and NGL guidance by 6 Mb/d by shifting some capital out of Dorado, its South Texas dry-gas play, and into oil-weighted assets in the Permian and Utica. CEO Ezra Yacob framed the move as a straightforward response to commodity signals, saying EOG is “reallocating some of the activity in Dorado to some of our more oil-weighted assets,” partly because “there’s a call across the world right now for increased oil supply.” Management stressed that Dorado remains a core long-term gas asset, but near-term drilling activity is being moderated while gas prices are soft.EOG plans to reduce Dorado’s production from about 1 Bcf/d to just over 800 MMcf/d, while reallocating capital to add five net completions in the Delaware Basin and 10 net completions in the Utica. The Utica in particular is benefiting from strong drilling gains, including a 22% improvement in drilled feet per day versus the 2025 average, while EOG continues to push longer laterals 2-3 miles in the Delaware and 3-4 miles in the Utica and Eagle Ford. Management also highlighted that their Janus gas processing plant in the Delaware, constructed late 2025 reached full utilization in March, helping reduce gathering, processing and transportation costs. On costs, EOG said its 2026 plan works with a breakeven oil price below $50/bbl WTI and their Dorado play remains competitive even with less near-term activity: Yacob said EOG wants to drive well costs in the play lower, with a target “below $700 per foot,” and cited “a low breakeven price of about $1.40 per Mcf.”

19 New Shale Well Permits Issued for PA-OH-WV Apr 27 – May 3 -– Marcellus Drilling News - The Marcellus/Utica region received 19 new drilling permits last week, Apr. 27 – May 3, up from the 12 permits issued two weeks ago. Pennsylvania issued 5 of last week’s permits. Ohio issued the lion’s share, with 13 new permits (four of which were from two weeks ago). West Virginia issued just 1 new permit last week. The drillers who received new permits included: Ascent Resources, Campbell Oil & Gas, CNX Resources, EOG Resources, Gulfport Energy, and Range Resources. Ascent Resources | Beaver County | Belmont County | Campbell Oil & Gas | Carroll County | CNX Resources | EOG Resources | Gulfport Energy | Monongalia County | Range Resources Corp | Washington County | Westmoreland County

Sen. McCormick Defends Homer City Power Plant Against “Uniformed” --U.S. Senator Dave McCormick recently visited the $10 billion Homer City Redevelopment project in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, where a new natural gas power plant and hyperscale data center are replacing a former coal facility. McCormick compared current environmental protests against data centers to early opposition to Marcellus Shale fracking, arguing both face “uninformed” anxiety despite offering massive economic and job benefits. Gee, where else have you heard the comparison between anti-fracking and anti-data center? MDN was perhaps the first to identify the trend, first tipping you back in July 2025 that the Democrat anti-fracking movement in Pennsylvania (and beyond) was rapidly becoming anti-data center (see PA Antis Hate Fossil Fuels, Shale Drilling, and Now…Data Centers).

Williams Announces New Gas-Fired Plant, Pipes for M-U Data Centers - Pipeline giant Williams issued its first quarter 2026 update yesterday, and there is plenty of news to report. Williams’ still relatively new CEO, Chad Zamarin, began his prepared remarks with a bang. He announced three brand new projects, two of which are located in the Marcellus/Utica. He also announced an upsizing of an existing Transco project to deliver more natural gas to Virginia. All of the projects Zamarin discussed are tied to the AI data center sector. Zamarin also addressed the Constitution Pipeline in New York State. You don’t want to miss what he said about the politics in NY (chuckle)

Obscure NJ State Agency Grants Approval for Williams NESE Pipe -– Marcellus Drilling News -  In April, MDN reported that anti-fossil fuel fanatics had not yet given up on trying to block construction of the Williams Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) pipeline, a $1 billion+ project designed to increase Transco pipeline capacity and flows of Marcellus gas heading into New York City and other northeastern markets. Even though there was an official groundbreaking ceremony at Brooklyn’s Floyd Bennett Field in New York City in April, antis are still doing their best to block this project. They pinned one of their last hopes on a relatively obscure state agency in New Jersey, pressuring it to refuse to issue a license for the project (see Antis Hold Out Hope to Block NESE Pipe Via Obscure NJ State Agency). Bad news for antis: the agency just voted to *approve* the project.

New York's energy comes at a cost. Pennsylvania is paying it. - When New Yorkers turn on the heat or cook dinner, the gas powering those actions very likely came from beneath the hills and farms of Pennsylvania. The Marcellus and Utica Shale formations, the second most productive natural gas fields in the nation, lie under Pennsylvania communities whose residents breathe the air around compressor stations, whose children are 5 to 7 times more likely to develop lymphoma, and whose physicians are treating elevated rates of respiratory illness, cardiovascular disease, preterm birth and childhood asthma tied to fossil fuel infrastructure. New York consumes the energy. Pennsylvania absorbs the harm. Last December, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the Climate Change Superfund Act into law — a landmark measure that holds major fossil fuel companies financially liable for greenhouse gas emissions connected to fuel produced or transported into New York. The law demands $75 billion from the industry to fund climate adaptation and establishes a principle long overdue in American energy policy: Those who profit most from fossil fuel emissions should bear the costs of the harm they cause. If fossil fuel companies face reduced financial liability for their emissions in New York, the economic incentive to increase production rises. That increased production will come primarily from Pennsylvania. More drilling. More compressor stations. More pipeline infrastructure. More emissions. And more illness among people who had no voice in New York’s deliberations. Weakening the Superfund Act is a choice to shift costs from fossil fuel corporations onto the lives of Pennsylvania residents. Here in Pennsylvania, our physicians treat these patients and see the connection between fossil fuel infrastructure and illness in clinical practice, not just in research papers. These are not hypotheticals; they are people in our communities who have had to accept a poisonous bargain from an industry that primarily serves markets elsewhere. They have not shared in the economic benefits of that industry. They have absorbed its health consequences. Consumers and fossil fuel companies operating in New York’s market have benefited from Pennsylvania’s resources for decades. The Climate Change Superfund Act begins to account for that. It asks the companies that extracted profit from these communities, and from the atmosphere, to contribute to repairing the damage. Stepping away from the legislation does not make the damage disappear; it simply means continued harm for the people least responsible for the damage. We urge Gov. Hochul to keep the Superfund Act intact, to say publicly that weakening it will harm Pennsylvanians and to move quickly toward full implementation. Setting bold climate goals is the easy part. Owning the full footprint of where your energy comes from is harder.  The people of Pennsylvania are part of that footprint, and their health deserves to be part of New York’s calculation.

Landowners File Suit Against New York Fracking Ban - The Institute for Energy Research  --E&E News reports that a father and son who own the mineral rights to 164 acres of land in upstate New York are suing the state in federal court to challenge the state’s ban on fracking. According to the lawsuit, NY’s ban on fracking is unconstitutional under the Fifth Amendment because it deprives the landowners of productive use of their property, amounting to an unfair taking by the government. Their case is being handled by the Pacific Legal Foundation, which supports private property rights. The state’s bans on high-volume hydraulic fracturing, carbon dioxide fracturing, and propane gel fracturing, which effectively prohibit all development of the Marcellus and Utica Shale formations, amount to an impermissible government taking, according to the suit. These formations extend across the border into Pennsylvania, where they have been developed safely and extensively for over fifteen years. The plaintiffs are asking the court to block the state from enforcing the ban.According to the complaint, the lawsuit is relevant to issues of energy independence and affordability. While banning hydraulic fracturing, New York State imports nearly 85% of its energy, with much of it in the form of natural gas coming from fracked basins in Pennsylvania. New York consumers pay high prices as the state’s residential electricity costs average between 24 and 27 cents per kilowatt-hour — approximately 40% above the national average — and natural gas prices run about 22.8% above the national average.In 2011, Madison Woodward III, a geologist, and his son Thomas purchased land in Delaware County that was on a rich natural gas reserve with the expectation that they would be allowed to develop the natural gas resources beneath their property. Three years later, on December 17, 2014, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo determined that there were too many unanswered questions regarding fracking to move forward with the technology, despite the fact that economically depressed areas of Upstate New York would have reaped benefits enjoyed by Pennsylvania landowners next door. He issued an executive order banning fracking. In 2020, the New York State legislature codified the ban in statute and imposed an indefinite moratorium on propane gel fracturing, followed by a 2024 ban on carbon dioxide-based fracturing.According to the Pacific Legal Foundation, propane gel fracking is different from hydraulic fracturing in that the process uses gelled propane that can be recovered and reused instead of using millions of gallons of water and sand. The propane returns to a gaseous state after extraction, leaving no wastewater needing to be disposed of. The technology is available, and operators are ready to use it.With the legislature’s ruling after the Woodwards purchased the property, they lost the ability to use the mineral rights they had purchased. Mineral rights are the legal ownership of the natural resources beneath land. The Woodwards sold the surface rights to the land in 2019, but had held onto the mineral rights, hoping that technology would eventually allow the natural gas to be developed. But New York banned all forms of technology that would allow that development.The basis of the lawsuit is that while New York has the right to set energy policy, the financial cost of that policy should not fall on the shoulders of people who invested in good faith under the laws in effect at the time of purchase. The landowner or mineral rights owner should not have to pay for the decision made by the state.

U.S. Propane Inventories Decline Against Seasonal Expectations | RBN Energy --The EIA reported an unusual 1.3 MMbbl draw in U.S. propane/propylene inventories for the week ended May 1, compared with industry expectations for a 565 Mbbl build and the average build for the week of 1.5 MMbbl. It was the first draw reported for the corresponding week since recordkeeping began in 2011 and marked the second consecutive week of off-season withdrawals, suggesting the propane market may be tightening more quickly than expected heading into summer. Despite the recent draws, total U.S. propane/propylene inventories remain historically elevated at 77.6 MMbbl, or 61% above year-ago levels, 26% above the 5-year maximum, and 52% above the 5-year average. Total U.S. propane/propylene production decreased by about 35 Mb/d to 2.94 MMb/d, while product supplied rose by about 180 Mb/d to 1.17 MMb/d. Lower production and higher product supplied supported the counterseasonal inventory draw.

Enbridge Plans New 28-Mile Gas Pipe in Chatham & Lee Counties in NC -– Marcellus Drilling News -- Enbridge Gas is developing a 28? mile natural gas pipeline to meet growing residential, commercial, and industrial energy needs in Chatham and Lee counties in North Carolina. The project, intended to connect Siler City to Moncure, is part of a larger state natural gas infrastructure buildout that Duke Energy says is crucial to meeting demand, especially from new data centers. With strong economic and population growth in the region, additional natural gas capacity is essential to support expanding communities and major industrial users, as well as to help ensure continued, reliable service for existing Enbridge Gas customers. This greenfield project is, of course, stirring up environmentalists who claim it will harm the environment (as well as cause mythical global warming).

Work to Expand Elba Island LNG Exports by Extra 0.4 MMTY Progresses -– Marcellus Drilling News - Kinder Morgan’s Elba Island LNG, which accepts and liquefies Marcellus/Utica molecules just offshore from Savannah, Georgia, received approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in November 2024 to expand the facility to produce an extra 0.4 million metric tons/year (see FERC Approves 0.4 MMTY Expansion for Elba Island LNG). After Donald Trump regained the White House, many of the roadblocks to expanding Elba (and other LNG projects) were cleared. Elba has been hard at work on the upgrades since then, with some already online and others soon to be.

Elba Island LNG Commissioning Milestone Adds to US Export Capacity Outlook -Federal regulators have authorized Kinder Morgan’s (KMI) Elba Island LNG terminal to introduce hazardous fluids into another liquefaction module, marking a step forward for the facility’s optimization project.Line chart showing NGI’s Transco Zone 5 South daily natural gas price movements from May 2025 through May 2026 in $US/MMBtu. The graph highlights relatively stable gas prices through most of 2025 before an extreme price spike above $130/MMBtu in early February 2026, followed by sharp volatility and a return to lower pricing levels across the Southeast U.S. natural gas market.    At a Glance:
Forward curve signals tighter winter
Southeast cash prices soften further
Feed gas ramp remains visibly muted

U.S. LNG Feedgas Drops Dramatically During Spring Maintenance Season | RBN Energy -U.S. LNG feedgas demand fell sharply last week with lower intake at Corpus Christi, Cameron, and Calcasieu Pass driving the decline. Feedgas averaged about 18.5 Bcf/d last week (blue-dotted line below), down 0.9 Bcf/d week-on-week as intake at Cameron dropped on April 30 and has remained at around 1.5 Bcf/d since then, consistent with two of the terminal's three trains being online. Maintenance in late spring is typical for Cameron, and the pattern suggests one train is likely offline. Past terminal turnarounds have generally run for around three weeks, so reduced intake could last through much of May. The terminal’s header pipeline, Cameron Interstate, is also conducting maintenance and will continue to do so throughout the month.  Corpus Christi reduced its intake last week as maintenance on Corpus Christi Pipeline constrained flows to the terminal. That work has wrapped up, so feedgas there should rebound this week. Calcasieu Pass intake also pulled back, slipping from recent peak levels down toward contracted utilization. With spring maintenance season in full swing, U.S. LNG output is likely to remain relatively soft in the near term, before growth resumes later this year.

Q1 2026 Earnings Calls: Comstock Q1 Production Down 15% vs. Year Ago, Maintains CY 2026 Guidance | RBN Energy - On its Q1 2026 earnings call held May 6, Comstock Resources reported first-quarter production averaged 1,088 MMcfe/d, down 15% vs. Q1 2025, attributing the decline to significant winter weather that forced shut-ins and pushed most of the quarter's well turn-in-line (TIL) activity into the closing weeks of the quarter. However, Comstock held full-year 2026 production guidance at 1,250–1,400 MMcfe/d. CEO Jay Allison guided 2Q 2026 production up 13–15% sequentially vs Q1, with stronger growth expected in the back half as the late-March completions ramp up and a fourth frac fleet comes online in May. The company plans to maintain its current nine rig drilling program through the end of the year.The Western Haynesville remains the centerpiece of Comstock's long-term growth strategy, with management citing the play's higher thickness, higher pressures, and significantly greater resource potential per section vs. the legacy Haynesville. Reductions in Western Haynesville Drilling and Completion (D&C) costs were identified as key 2026 priorities, and Comstock is still in the early stages of optimizing their drilling techniques there (see well performance comparison below). To that end, the company mentioned several initiatives intended to reduce D&C costs this year, including rolling out a larger diameter lateral design, upgrading one of their Western Haynesville rigs to a 10,000-psi pressure rating by late summer, field testing higher-temperature-rated drilling motors later in 2026, and eventually deploying rotary steerable drilling systems already being tested in the legacy Haynesville. The Western Haynesville footprint was selected in March 2026 by the U.S. Department of Commerce to host a new 5.2 GW natural gas-fired power generation hub in Anderson County, Texas. The $16 billion project, part of Japan's $550 billion U.S. investment commitment under the U.S.-Japan trade deal, will be jointly owned by Japan and the U.S., built and operated by NextEra Energy Resources, and supplied by Comstock, with gas demand for the facility potentially approaching 1 Bcf/d by 2031. Management declined to comment on commercial gas-supply terms, but the project represents a meaningful in-basin demand anchor for Western Haynesville development.

Proposed ST LNG Project Moves Forward With Draft EIS -- The US Maritime Administration (MARAD) has issued a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for what could be one of the first US offshore LNG facility, ST LNG, sited more than 10 miles off the coast in East Matagorda Bay. At a Glance:

• Project targets 2029 first production
• Transco-linked feed gas supply outlined
• Offshore LNG remains untested domestically

Delfin LNG Gains More Momentum With Another SPA on Path Toward FID - Global commodities trader Gunvor Group said Wednesday it would purchase more LNG from the Delfin floating liquefaction project being developed 40 miles offshore Louisiana. Map of the proposed Delfin LNG offshore export project in the Gulf of America, including floating LNG vessel locations and pipeline infrastructure connecting onshore supply to offshore liquefaction facilities.   At a Glance:
Deal follows another signed in 2023
Delfin has deals to sell over 4 Mt/y
FID thought to be close

Chevron LNG Output at Full Capacity as Natural Gas Demand Builds in Tight Global Market --At Chevron, “all the big pistons in the engine are firing,” and momentum is building in the second quarter as the supermajor provides steady natural gas and oil supply to tight global markets, the company’s top executive said.  Map of Australia LNG liquefaction facilities showing major export projects including Gorgon, Wheatstone, Pluto, North West Shelf, Ichthys, Darwin, Gladstone, Queensland Curtis, highlighting global LNG supply hubs, Asia-Pacific gas exports, energy infrastructure.At a Glance:
LNG assets running at full rates
Sold first US LNG spot cargo to Europe
Eastern Med output gains momentum

Train 6 Feed Gas Approval Marks Latest Step in Cheniere Stage 3 Ramp-Up - A look at the global natural gas and LNG markets by the numbers:

• 210 MMcf/d: Federal regulators gave Cheniere the greenlight to introduce feed gas to the cold-end of Train 6, raising the possibility of more demand from the company’s Stage 3 expansion project in the coming weeks. The approval is an indicator of late-stage commissioning and typically occurs weeks to a few months before first LNG. Each train can add up to 210 MMcf/d in feed gas demand from West Texas hubs at peak capacity. Bechtel has delivered trains for Stage 3 to Cheniere for production roughly 2-3 months after commissioning begins.
• 2.41 Mt: US LNG export volumes are set to be muted at the beginning of May before rising on Asian demand in the weeks ahead. Week/week sendout from US terminals have dipped since late April, dropping down to 2.41 million tons (Mt) for the week of May 4, according to Kpler predictive data. Cooling demand in Asia could break the pattern as export volumes are set to jump to 2.77 Mt the week beginning May 11, according to Kpler. The majority of the week/week gain is expected to be driven by Japan and South Korea.
• 17.6 Bcf/d: Daily LNG feed gas demand has dipped over the past two weeks, nearing the lowest point since Winter Storm Fern in January. Nominations to terminals have slipped from 18.46 Bcf/d at the beginning of last week to 17.6 Bcf/d Wednesday, according to Wood Mackenzie data. The drop in nominations has been led by lower flows to Cameron LNG in Louisiana and Cheniere’s Corpus Christi facility. Nominations are still around 2 Bcf/d above levels during the same period last year.
• 34.1%: European Union natural gas storage levels have begun to rise after ending the heating season at the lowest levels in five years. EU storage inventories rose from 32% at the end of April to 34% Monday as steady US LNG volumes and mild weather continue to influence supply dynamics. However, analysts have warned the continent could see price volatility as it competes with Asia for spot volumes during the filling season. Japan is set to import an additional 10-11 cargoes over last month as storage inventories in the country wane to a two-month low.

Golden Pass LNG Feed Gas Climbs as Second Cargo Prepares to Leave Texas -- Golden Pass LNG is loading its second export cargo as feed gas demand continues climbing during the Texas terminal’s commissioning. At a Glance:

• Feed gas nominations hit new high
• Commissioning ramp continues at Train 1
• Global LNG supply tightness persists

Rio Grande LNG Timeline Slipping as NextDecade Requests FERC Deadline Extension - NextDecade has asked federal regulators for more time to finish building its Rio Grande LNG export terminal in South Texas and bring it online, saying previous legal and regulatory delays won’t allow it to meet the current deadline under an extension it received in 2022.North America LNG export capacity chart showing operational and sanctioned projects from 2016 to 2033, with capacity rising above 35 Bcf/d, including Sabine Pass, Corpus Christi, Golden Pass, Plaquemines, Port Arthur, Rio Grande LNG, highlighting U.S. LNG growth, global gas supply trends.   At a Glance:
Train 1 to be completed 1Q2027
All five trains under construction
$10.5 billion invested to date

NextDecade Eyes 2027 FID for Rio Grande Train 6 as Iran War Lifts LNG Demand - NextDecade is looking to capitalize on contracting momentum from the conflict in Iran to sanction Train 6 at Rio Grande LNG next year as demand for long-term US LNG supply strengthens.  At a Glance:

• Train 6 demand exceeds capacity
• FERC filing expected this quarter
• Federal policy may accelerate permitting

US natgas futures gain 3% to three-week high as output dips, oil prices surge  (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures climbed about 3% to a fresh three-week high on Monday on a drop in output over the past month and as the gas market followed a sharp 6% rise in oil prices after Iran stepped up attacks in the Middle East Gulf. Front-month gas futures for June delivery NGc1 on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 8.7 cents, or 3.1%, to settle at $2.867 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), their highest close since April 7 for a third day in a row. That also put the front-month up for a sixth day in a row for the first time since mid-April. In the cash market, average prices at the Waha Hub in West Texas have remained in negative territory for a record 61 days in a row as pipeline constraints trap gas in the Permian region, the nation's biggest oil-producing shale basin. Daily Waha prices first averaged below zero in 2019. They did so 17 times in 2019, six times in 2020, once in 2023, 49 times in 2024, 39 times in 2025, and a record 70 times so far this year. Waha prices have averaged a negative $2.20 per mmBtu so far in 2026, compared with a positive $1.15 in 2025 and a positive $2.88 over the past five years (2021 to 2025). Financial group LSEG said average gas output in the U.S. Lower 48 states fell to 109.0 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in May, down from 109.5 bcfd in April and a monthly record high of 110.6 bcfd in December 2025. Analysts said mostly mild weather earlier this spring allowed energy firms to inject more gas into storage than usual. They noted, however, that recent output declines coupled with cooler weather and higher demand likely reduced the inventory surplus to around 7% above normal during the week ended May 1, down from 8% above during the week ended April 24.   Looking ahead, meteorologists forecast the weather will remain mostly near normal through May 19. LSEG projected average gas demand in the Lower 48 states, including exports, would hold near 99.3 bcfd this week and next. The forecast for this week was lower than LSEG's outlook on Friday. Average gas flows to the nine big U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants fell to 17.4 bcfd so far in May, down from a monthly record of 18.8 bcfd in April.

US natgas futures fall 3% as demand outlook weakens and LNG feedgas drops (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures fell about 3% on Tuesday on lowered demand forecasts for the next two weeks, with gas flows to liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants expected to drop during the usual spring maintenance season. After rising for six days in a row, front-month gas futures for June delivery NGc1 on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 7.9 cents, or 2.8%, to settle at $2.788 per million British thermal units (mmBtu). On Monday, the contract closed at its highest since April 7 for a third day in a row. In the cash market, average prices at the Waha Hub in West Texas have remained in negative territory for a record 62 days in a row as pipeline constraints trap gas in the Permian region, the nation's biggest oil-producing shale basin.   Financial group LSEG said average gas output in the U.S. Lower 48 states fell to 109.1 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in May, down from 109.5 bcfd in April and a monthly record high of 110.6 bcfd in December 2025. Output has declined over the past couple of months due in part to low spot prices, which prompted energy firms like EQT , the second-largest U.S. gas producer, to temporarily reduce production as they wait for prices to rise later in the year. Analysts said mostly mild weather earlier this spring allowed energy firms to inject more gas into storage than usual. They noted, however, that recent output declines coupled with cooler weather and higher demand likely reduced the inventory surplus to around 7% above normal during the week ended May 1, down from 8% above during the week ended April 24.   Looking ahead, meteorologists forecast the weather will remain mostly near normal through May 20 with cooling demand starting to overtake heating demand for the first time this year. LSEG projected average gas demand in the Lower 48 states, including exports, would hold near 97.8 bcfd this week and next. Those forecasts were lower than LSEG's outlook on Monday. Average gas flows to the nine big U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants fell to 17.3 bcfd so far in May, down from a monthly record of 18.8 bcfd in April.

The Big Picture – The Coming Battle for Gas Between LNG Exports and Southeast Generation | RBN Energy -- Natural gas demand is building fast along the Gulf Coast. New LNG export terminals in Texas and Louisiana. New data centers, new industrial facilities and new power generation as far east as Florida. And new gas pipelines and pipeline expansion projects to help deliver the incremental gas that will be required. That’s all baked in. What’s still far from certain is where all the needed gas will come from, and how intense the battle for gas supply will become by the early 2030s. As we discuss in today’s RBN blog, the second in a series, early indications are that it will be a battle royale.In Part 1, we said that while we’ve blogged about rising demand for gas in the southeastern U.S. and the pipeline projects being planned to deliver more gas to the region, there’s more to the story. That “bigger picture” is that gas consumers in the Southeast — a region that, for our purposes here, includes Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina — increasingly find themselves competing for supply with LNG exporters in Louisiana as well as power generators and other gas consumers north of them in Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia. We noted that gas-demand growth in the southeastern U.S. has been coming on fast and furious over the past few years, constraining the legacy gas pipeline networks there and resulting in the SONAT (Southern Natural Gas), Florida Zone 3 and Transco Zone 4 price trading points being among the very few locations where gas is priced at a premium to Henry Hub for most of the year. And we discussed the pipeline systems that deliver gas to the region (solid lines in Figure 1 below), the new pipelines and expansion projects being planned to increase flows (dashed lines), and the long list of gas-fired power plants being built.

Q1 2026 Earnings Calls: Cheniere Continues Corpus Christi Expansion | RBN Energy -On Thursday Cheniere held its first quarterly earnings call since the war with Iran began. As the war has restricted the amount of LNG from Qatar that is able to reach the global market, it has made Cheniere’s LNG export facilities in Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi more profitable. As the firm noted in the graph below, futures for global benchmarks for natural gas have risen tremendously since the conflict began in late February, while Henry Hub futures have scarcely budged. The JKM forward curve for the remainder of 2026 is more than $4.00/MMBtu higher than it was in late February, represented by the leftmost black bar in the chart. The yellow bar representing TTF change and the light-blue bar showing Brent change are also large, showing a major increase in those prices. Meanwhile, the dark blue bar representing Henry Hub futures is only slightly higher for 2026 and almost completely flat for the following years, showing little impact from the start of the war. Cheniere gave an update on the Corpus Christi Stage III plan, saying that it expects to reach first LNG at Train 6 in Corpus Christi in the next few days. Substantial completion of Train 5 was already reached in March, and Train 7 should be substantially complete by the end of this year. CEO Jack Fusco said that not only are these facilities coming online ahead of schedule, but that the “ramp-up has been higher and steadier.” The firm also commented on its project to build midscale Trains 8 and 9 which includes debottlenecking of last-mile pipelines that would supply the facilities. That project is currently ahead of schedule, with 37% currently completed.Discussing future projects, CFO Zach Davis said that Cheniere plans to reach FID on Train 7 of Sabine Pass early next year, noting that the company has 10 mtpa of Sales and Purchase Agreements (SPAs) that “have not been used to underpin or underwrite an FID project.” After that reaches FID, Jack Fusco stated that future Cheniere expansions would most likely be in Corpus Christi. The company owns “another 500 acres of basically untouched land” that has access to water and power. In contrast, the firm’s excess Sabine property is in wetlands and would require mitigation in order to use commercially.

Cheniere ‘Astounded’ by LNG Prices, Expects ‘Aggressive’ Competition for Cargoes -- Cheniere Energy’s management team expects the Iran war to again boost contracting for American LNG as more buyers search for reliable supplies to fill a gap left by damaged infrastructure in the Middle East. At a Glance:

• Company sees tight 2026, 2027 market
• Lifts LNG production guidance
• Nearing FID on Sabine Pass expansion

Why Hasn’t Hormuz Closure Spiked US Natural Gas Prices? EQT’s Rice Has an Answer --  EQT CEO Toby Rice is making the case that growing US LNG exports would not pull domestic natural gas prices into the orbit of global volatility, pointing to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz as a real-time test of the thesis. Chart showing NYMEX, TTF, JKM natural gas futures prices from 2019–2026, highlighting spikes during COVID supply shocks, Russia-Ukraine war, Iran conflict, with international prices exceeding $70/MMBtu while U.S. prices remained lower. At a Glance:
Henry Hub lower after Hormuz closure
European, Asia prices up 50% by comparison
US has 60 Bcf/d natural gas supply upside

How’s It Going to Be – How a Prolonged Conflict with Iran Could Disrupt U.S. Gasoline, Jet and Diesel Markets | RBN Energy -The U.S. is seeing softer domestic demand for traditional fuels as efficiency improves and biofuels gain ground, but pockets of the country remain highly dependent on imported gasoline and jet fuel. If the Iran war drags on for an extended period, the key question becomes how much of each region’s gasoline, jet fuel and diesel demand can be covered by U.S. refineries and how much each still needs from international suppliers. Some parts of the country could face real product challenges if the disruption is prolonged. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll zero in on which PADDs are at the highest risk for shortages and price spikes.As we’ve addressed in the RBN blogosphere, the war against Iran and closure of the Strait of Hormuz have seriously impacted the flows of refined products and LPG that underpin the Pacific Basin fuel market. With the strait effectively blocked to virtually all shipping for the last several weeks (see Eyes of the Ranger), large volumes of crude oil, LPG, naphtha and refined products bound for Asia were suddenly stranded, forcing refiners in South Korea and elsewhere to cut runs and curb gasoline and jet fuel exports (see Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad). As of May 4, the situation remains volatile and peace talks are uncertain.In today’s blog, we use our Future of Fuels analysis to estimate how much gasoline, diesel and jet fuel demand is met by each PADD’s production compared to how much it relies on imports. From this, we identify which regions are most exposed if hostilities drag on for additional months or into this winter. The biggest refined product risk from a prolonged conflict is gasoline and jet fuel in PADD 5 (gray section in Figure 1 below). The West Coast market is structurally tight and increasingly dependent on imports under normal circumstances, making it especially vulnerable to supply disruptions (see I Need More).In 2025, PADD 5 produced about 429 Mb/d of jet fuel and relied on roughly 86 Mb/d of imports to meet a demand of 505 Mb/d. Output is expected to fall toward 400 Mb/d in 2026 due to recent refinery closures, lifting import needs to around 120 Mb/d. Gasoline shows a similar trend: Production declined from about 1.16 MMb/d in 2023 to around 1.06 MMb/d in 2025, while imports more than doubled to roughly 117 Mb/d, with further increases likely as local output continues to fall. In all, PADD 5 is expected to see the steepest refinery capacity decline in the country, down about 1 MMb/d from 2025-40, which should increase the West Coast’s dependence on imported refined products as local supply tightens. With jet fuel prices now roughly double pre-war levels, PADD 5 faces an elevated risk of price spikes if the conflict persists. This vulnerability reflects a structural shift. Refining capacity on the West Coast has declined faster than demand, pushing the region to rely more heavily on imported gasoline and jet fuel, primarily from Asia. Recent refinery closures have reinforced this trend. Phillips 66 shut its Los Angeles-area site, the Carson/Wilmington refinery, in November 2025, and Valero Energy idled its 150-Mb/d Benicia refinery in the Bay Area in February 2026. Combined with earlier conversions to renewable fuels, California has lost roughly 575 Mb/d of conventional refining capacity since 2020, structurally increasing its import dependence.Total imports of transportation fuels into PADD 5 climbed to more than 300 Mb/d in October and November (right end of black line in Figure 2 below), coinciding with the P66 Los Angeles refinery closure. Most of the growth was in gasoline and jet fuel. The import surge also aligned with ongoing disruptions at other California refineries, especially PBF Energy’s Martinez plant in the Bay Area, which was fully shut after a February 2025 fire at its cat feed (VGO) hydrotreater and has been running at only 85-105 Mb/d since early Q2 2025 (compared with its nameplate capacity of about 157 Mb/d). That refinery is only now returning to full rates. As refinery runs gradually recovered from fall maintenance and Martinez edged toward full operation, imports pulled back in December and January but remained ahead of year-ago rates.Imports have surged since the start of the war. According to Energy Information Administration (EIA) data, the four-week trailing average of PADD 5 petroleum product imports has surged by roughly 170 Mb/d year-on-year as of mid-April, now topping 500 Mb/d (red line in Figure 2). With California increasingly reliant on imports to balance demand, tightening regional supplies have also contributed to greater price volatility.Most of PADD 5’s transportation fuel imports come from East Asia, with South Korean refiners the largest contributors. Canada provides a smaller but meaningful share, while Africa, Latin America, Europe,  Central Asia and the Mideast are occasional contributors. That means the West Coast is increasingly dependent on long‑haul waterborne barrels from Asian refining hubs such as South Korea, Japan, China and Singapore, which do not pass through the Strait of Hormuz on their way to North America. But the Middle East likely supplies more than half of East Asian refinery feedstocks, so uncertainty around the strait can still tighten Asian product balances.PADD 1 (East Coast; blue area in Figure 1 above) remains structurally short of gasoline and could be vulnerable if the Iran conflict drags on, as the region is reliant on imports to balance its market. In 2025, East Coast refineries produced about 405 Mb/d of gasoline, while regional demand reached roughly 2.8 MMb/d, leaving a large gap that had to be filled by inflows. A little over 2 MMb/d of that supply came in via the Colonial and Products (SE) pipelines from PADD 3 (Gulf Coast; red section in Figure 1), but PADD 1 still required about 460 Mb/d of imports to meet demand, more than double the volume it needed a decade earlier. If a prolonged conflict in Iran disrupts global product flows or raises competition for Atlantic Basin barrels, PADD 1’s heavy dependence on imports could put the region at a heightened risk of product shortages and price spikes.PADD 1 product imports are down, running roughly 400-500 Mb/d below recent years on a four‑week average basis (red line in Figure 2 below) because East Coast gasoline demand is being met more by domestic Gulf Coast barrels and inventory drawdowns than by seaborne imports. East Coast gasoline storage appears to be sitting materially above year‑ago levels, and higher pump prices look to have tempered the usual spring pickup in demand, reducing the call on imports. At the same time, the Trump administration’s 60‑day Jones Act waiver has made it easier to move incremental barrels from PADD 3 to PADD 1 on foreign‑flagged tankers. (The administration extended the waiver for an additional 90 days on April 28, effective May 18.) So far, Gulf Coast refiners are backfilling East Coast needs that would historically have been met by European gasoline cargoes. There are several reasons PADD 1 is short on gasoline. The region is highly dependent on just a couple of pipelines from the Gulf Coast and, to a lesser extent, pipeline movements from the Midcontinent and foreign waterborne imports. It also tends to run low inventories, leaving it more exposed when global refining margins or weather turn against it. Several PADD 1 refiners have shut or scaled back output, including major capacity losses in the Philadelphia area, and they now supply only a small share of the region’s fuel. Northern PADD 1 (New England and parts of the Central Atlantic) brings in a lot of product from Canada (especially from Irving Oil’s St. John, New Brunswick, refinery) and Europe.PADD 1’s diesel situation looks manageable for now but could deteriorate quickly if the conflict lasts into winter. PADD 1 produced about 225 Mb/d of diesel in 2025 and relied on roughly 125 Mb/d of imports, with total diesel demand near 1.2 MMb/d. That leaves the region heavily dependent on inflows from other U.S. regions, primarily PADD 3 and, increasingly, PADD 2 (Midwest; green section in Figure 1). Even with growing PADD 2 pipeline access, PADD 1 remains structurally short of diesel and highly exposed to external shocks (see A Little Bit More). In summer, diesel demand is somewhat tight, but the real risk is the winter months. PADD 1’s winter diesel/distillate needs, especially for heating, push the system much closer to the edge, so if the conflict extends into the November-February period, the risk of a diesel shortage rises substantially. Over the past few years, PADD 1 diesel imports have regularly spiked to above 200 Mb/d in the winter months, while averaging around 100 Mb/d through the rest of the year.The regions in the middle of the country, PADD 2, PADD 3 and PADD 4 (Rockies; yellow section in Figure 1), are in a very different position. Overall, they are not dependent on product imports for gasoline, diesel, or jet fuel, so they shouldn’t be significantly impacted even if the conflict lasts a long time. PADDs 2 and 4 lean heavily on Canadian crude, while PADD 3 has access to a wide slate of crude from Canada, Mexico and Latin America. Together, the three form a large, integrated refining and pipeline system that is structurally long in products, with PADD 3 a major exporter. In addition, these three PADDs, combined, were importing less than 1 MMb/d of crude oil via waterborne routes prior to the start of the conflict compared with typical refinery runs of nearly 15 MMb/d. Further, most PADD 3 refineries have access to crude oil released from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to help offset any lost waterborne crude oil imports. (The U.S. is releasing 172 MMbbl of crude oil in a bid to limit price increases; see Big Time.)The Gulf Coast and Midcontinent are long on products and resilient, but the coasts — especially PADD 5 and, to a lesser extent, PADD 1 — are increasingly exposed to global dislocations. As long as West Coast refining capacity continues to shrink and East Coast demand outpaces local supply, import dependence will remain a structural vulnerability. If the Iran conflict lingers and tightens global product balances, those weak spots could quickly translate into higher prices — and, in a worst case, localized supply crunches that ripple across already stretched regional markets.

Maryland Dems probe Air Force on jet fuel leak - Maryland Democrats are seeking answers from the Trump administration on a jet fuel leak at Joint Base Andrews that has polluted soil and a Potomac River tributary just outside Washington. In a letter Wednesday to Air Force Secretary Troy Meink, both of Maryland’s senators and seven House members questioned the department’s response to the release of over 32,000 gallons of jet fuel at the base, roughly two-thirds of which reached Piscataway Creek. The incident began in January, but the Air Force did not notify the state until April 8, according to Maryland environmental regulators.  “Legacy pollution from Joint Base Andrews has already resulted in PFAS contamination in Piscataway Creek and the surrounding area, and this fuel spill adds to existing environmental stressors affecting the watershed,” the letter said. “The release has the potential to cause further ecological harm to the Piscataway Creek, which flows into the Potomac River, a key Chesapeake Bay tributary.”

Permian to US Gulf Coast crude pipeline operational after oil spill - A pipeline that ships crude oil between the Permian basin in West Texas and Houston was fully operational on Thursday after a brief outage due to a leak, operator ONEOK said. Traders had received a shipping notice from ONEOK on Wednesday, seen by Reuters, noting that an incident affecting the BridgeTex pipeline could result in temporary delays or interruptions to scheduled receipts and deliveries. The outage comes as flows from the Permian, the top shale basin, to Gulf Coast pipelines have climbed amid record export demand due to the Iran war. “The line has been secured and is back in operation. The product is currently contained, and reclamation efforts are ongoing,” a ONEOK spokesperson said.29dk2902l ONEOK owns about 60% of the about 400-mile Bridgetex crude oil pipeline with a transport capacity of up to 440,000 barrels per day. Plains All American owns the remaining 40%.

Take the Money and Run? – E&Ps Face a New Capital Allocation Cycle … Will Debt Reduction Stay Front and Center? | RBN Energy -After several years of aggressive balance-sheet repair, U.S. E&Ps are entering a new phase — one defined not by constraint, but by opportunity. A surge in oil prices tied to the Iran conflict and a sharp rise in natural gas prices driven by an unusually cold winter have combined to generate a fresh wave of excess cash flow across the sector. Oil markets have been pushed higher by supply disruptions and geopolitical tensions, while natural gas prices have strengthened on weather-driven demand, reinforcing a powerful near-term earnings tailwind. The question posed in today’s RBN blog is a familiar one: What will companies do with these additional cash flows?The 35 E&Ps that we monitor held total debt essentially flat at just under $150 billion (blue bars and left axis in Figure 1 below) in 2025, while their collective debt-to-capital ratio (orange line and right axis) declined by 1 percentage point to 24%. Debt trended steadily lower from its 2019 peak through 2022 as companies shifted toward a cash-return model that prioritized free cash flow over reinvestment, enabling meaningful debt reduction alongside increased dividends and share repurchases. Debt moved sharply higher in 2024, driven by a surge in M&A activity (see Try Some, Buy Some), with our universe of E&Ps completing nearly $120 billion of asset and corporate transactions. Despite the increase in total debt, the debt-to-capital ratio remained stable, as companies funded acquisitions with a mix of debt and equity to preserve target leverage levels. In 2025, debt levels held steady, while the debt-to-capital ratio declined to 24%, supported by an expanding capital base.Figure 2 below compares debt per barrel of oil equivalent (boe) of reserves (blue area) with PV-10 (present value of proved oil and gas reserves at a 10% discount rate) per boe (orange line), which serves as the primary collateral supporting E&P debt. The gap between the two series reflects the industry’s “value cushion” — the margin between reserve value and outstanding debt.Periods where the orange line approaches or falls below the blue area — most notably in 2015-16 and again in 2020 — indicate that debt per boe exceeded the underlying reserve value, highlighting periods of balance-sheet stress. Following a peak in 2022, when this cushion reached its widest level, it has steadily narrowed, declining to $3.63/boe in 2025.The 11 companies in the Oil-Weighted E&P peer group increased total debt by approximately $2 billion in 2025 to $63 billion (blue bars and left axis in Figure 3 below), following a much larger $16 billion increase in 2024 driven primarily by acquisition activity led by Diamondback Energy and Occidental Petroleum. Despite the increase in absolute debt, the group’s debt-to-capital ratio (orange line and right axis) remained unchanged at 24% in 2025, as companies expanded their capital base through a combination of equity issuance — largely tied to acquisition financing — and retained earnings supported by continued profitability.As with the broader E&P universe, debt for the Oil-Weighted group peaked in 2019 at approximately $63 billion before declining by more than $20 billion through 2022, reflecting a period of balance-sheet repair during the early years of the cash-return model. Debt began to rise again in 2023, increasing modestly to $44 billion, before accelerating sharply in 2024 as M&A activity re-emerged as a primary vehicle for growth.Figure 4 below compares debt per barrel of oil equivalent (boe) of reserves (blue area) with the PV-10 per boe (orange line) for the Oil-Weighted E&P peer group. The value cushion peaked in 2022 and has declined in each year since, falling to $3.23/boe in 2025, driven primarily by lower reserve values. (As noted above, periods where the orange line approaches or falls into the blue area indicate balance-sheet stress.)Figure 5 below positions the 11 companies in the Oil-Weighted E&P peer group by debt-to-capital (x-axis) and debt per boe (y-axis), providing a relative view of balance-sheet leverage and asset-level debt intensity. Companies in the upper-right quadrant exhibit both higher leverage and higher debt per unit of reserves, while those in the lower-left quadrant reflect stronger balance sheets with lower leverage and debt burdens. There is a clear dispersion in financial positioning across the Oil-Weighted peer group, with a subset of companies still carrying elevated leverage, while others operate with significant balance-sheet capacity.HighPeak Energy (HPK) stands out as the most levered name in the group across both metrics, with Occidental Petroleum (OXY) also positioned toward the higher end of the leverage spectrum. These companies may have the greatest incentive to allocate incremental cash flow toward debt reduction, particularly in periods of stronger oil prices like we’ve seen since March.At the opposite end of the spectrum, Chord Energy (CHRD), EOG Resources (EOG) and California Resources (CRC) occupy the lower-left quadrant, reflecting relatively conservative leverage profiles and lower debt per boe. These companies are better positioned on a balance-sheet basis and may have greater flexibility to allocate capital toward shareholder returns or selective growth.

California Moves to Block Federal Order Restarting Sable Oil Pipelines - California is seeking a court injunction to block a federal order restarting Sable Offshore’s oil pipelines, setting up a major legal fight over pipeline authority and regulation. (P&GJ) — California Attorney General Rob Bonta is seeking a preliminary injunction to block a federal order that enabled the restart of Sable Offshore Corp.’s onshore oil pipelines, setting up a legal clash over pipeline authority and regulatory control. The motion challenges a March directive issued by the U.S. Department of Energy under the Defense Production Act (DPA), which required Sable to resume oil transportation through its Las Flores pipeline system. State officials argue the order improperly overrides California law and a federal court consent decree governing the pipelines. The dispute centers on Lines CA-324 and CA-325, which run along the Santa Barbara County coastline and have been largely inactive since a 2015 rupture caused the Refugio oil spill. That incident released more than 120,000 gallons of crude oil and led to stricter oversight requirements before any restart could occur. According to the state’s filing, the federal order directed Sable to resume operations without completing required state approvals or meeting conditions outlined in the consent decree. California argues the DPA does not grant federal officials authority to bypass environmental regulations or court orders. The lawsuit also contends the federal directive exceeds statutory authority by attempting to compel pipeline operations rather than prioritizing contracts, which is the intended scope of the DPA. State attorneys further argue the order is inconsistent with federal regulations and was issued without required findings or analysis. Sable resumed transporting oil through the pipelines shortly after the federal order was issued in March, citing compliance with the directive. California maintains the restart creates potential environmental and safety risks, while also undermining state regulatory authority. The motion asks the court to halt pipeline operations until the legal challenge is resolved. The case is part of a broader legal effort by the state to challenge federal actions affecting pipeline oversight, including a separate dispute over jurisdictional classification of the same lines.

PADD 5 Crude Imports Fall to 5-Year Low  - U.S. crude imports fell 275 Mb/d to 5.48 MMb/d last week, about 250 Mb/d below the four week average and nearly 750 Mb/d below the year to date average. PADD 5 imports dropped sharply, falling 470 Mb/d to just 560 Mb/d, the lowest weekly volume since January 1, 2021. PADD 1 imports rebounded from the previous week’s all time low, rising from 135 Mb/d to 600 Mb/d, slightly above the year to date average. Canadian imports were hit hard (see chart below), falling 705 Mb/d to just 3.27 MMb/d, the lowest weekly volume this year, likely tied to the drop in PADD 5 imports. With the current state of affairs in the Strait of Hormuz, imports are likely to remain below normal levels well into the summer.

Q1 2026 Earnings Calls: Hess Midstream Benefiting from Longer Bakken Laterals | RBN Energy -Hess Midstream said during its earnings call May 4 that it expected to reduce its capital expenditures to $100 million in 2026, about one-third less than its previous guidance, reflecting Chevron’s move to longer laterals in the Bakken and the completion of a second compressor station that is now online.“Chevron continues to bring lessons from other basins to the Bakken, like longer laterals, workover optimization and increased chemicals to improve productivity. We are also benefiting from that,” CEO Jonathan Stein said. “Longer laterals, for example, make wells more economic by decreasing the breakeven and … reduce our well-connect requirements as fewer wells are needed.”Chevron has a 37.8% interest in Hess Midstream after its $60 billion acquisition of Hess, which closed in July 2025. About 90% of Hess Midstream's volumes are from Chevron production, with third parties making up the other 10%.Hess said throughput volumes were 430 MMcf/d for gas processing, 119 Mb/d for crude terminaling and 115 Mb/d for water gathering in Q1 2026, all in line with previous guidance but down from Q4 2025, primarily due to severe winter weather in January and February, partially offset by recovery in March as well as capture of additional third-party gas volume. Hess said it expects volumes to grow the rest of the year, excluding the impact of planned maintenance at the Tioga Gas Plant that is expected to reduce volumes by 5-10 MMcf/d during Q2.

White House Backs Alaska LNG Tax Reform as Legislative Deadline Nears --The White House has lent its support to Alaska legislation aimed at advancing the long-delayed Alaska LNG project, urging state lawmakers to consider tax reforms that could incentivize the massive export facility. At a Glance:

• Bills target Alaska LNG tax structure
• Dunleavy touts federal LNG support
• Legislative deadline nears for bills

Ksi Lisims LNG in ‘Advanced’ Discussions for More Offtakers as it Targets FID by Year’s End -The Ksi Lisims LNG project in British Columbia (BC) is still targeting a final investment decision this year amid renewed momentum for Canadian LNG export growth. Table showing Other North America LNG netback prices as of May 6, 2026, comparing Western Canada AECO, Costa Azul SoCal Border, Cove Point Transco Zone 5, and NGI Waha forward natural gas prices from June 2026 through May 2027 in $US/MMBtu. The chart highlights LNG export economics, basis differentials, forward gas prices, and regional netback spreads across North American natural gas markets. At a Glance:
Project has all permits to start construction
Feed gas system already being built
4 Mt/y of offtake deals signed so far

Q1 2026 Earnings Calls: AltaGas Reports 5% Increase in LPG Exports | RBN Energy - AltaGas averaged 125 Mb/d of LPG exports to Asia during Q1 2026, up 5% from a year ago,  underscoring continued strength in global demand, the company said during its quarterly earnings call April 30.The company has also expanded its shipping footprint, taking delivery of its third VLGC time charter in April, with a fourth vessel expected to join the fleet in late 2026. In addition, the expansion of its Ridley Island Export Energy Facility (REEF) is progressing toward a Q4 2026 startup and will increase export capacity by 30 Mb/d, bringing total capacity to 56 Mb/d. The project is about 75% complete, with all modules onsite and the majority fully installed (see photos below).Following the implementation of U.S. tariffs, AltaGas said it has captured an 11% share of the Chinese LPG market, up from zero previously.The company reported EBITDA of $818 million, a record, up 19% from the same period last year, on the stronger throughput across its midstream system.

Q1 2026 Earnings Calls: Tourmaline Says Western Canada’s Gas Glut Looks Temporary | RBN Energy Tourmaline mentioned on its Q1 2026 earnings call that weak Western Canadian gas prices are masking what management sees as a much tighter long-term market. The company said rising LNG export demand, improving California market conditions and growing gas-fired power demand should eventually absorb today’s excess supply, even as AECO pricing remains pressured in the near term. Management consistently framed the current weakness as a temporary export bottleneck rather than a structural oversupply problem, pointing to LNG Canada’s ramp-up in Kitimat, BC, and improving downstream demand as key catalysts for a market rebalance. Executives said LNG Canada recently approached its 2 Bcf/d nameplate capacity, while export demand into California appears likely to strengthen later this summer as hydro generation declines and heat-driven power demand increases. Tourmaline also highlighted early feedgas demand from Mexico’s Costa Azul LNG project, which management believes should further tighten the California corridor and improve pricing signals across Western Canada. The company estimates that roughly 1 Bcf/d of export demand is currently backed up in the basin, temporarily offsetting the tightening effect from LNG Canada’s startup. Still, management emphasized that LNG export demand should remain in place for decades, while the current export disruption may last only a few more months. Tourmaline is positioning itself for that expected tightening by continuing to expand infrastructure and increase exposure to international pricing. The company said its Aitken Creek and Groundbirch facility projects in Northeast BC (green circles in map below) remain on schedule as part of a broader Montney buildout designed to lower costs and support long-term production growth. At the same time, Tourmaline continues to increase exposure to JKM- and TTF-linked gas pricing, while stronger Asian propane pricing is expected to lift 2026 NGL realizations by roughly 30% year over year. Management also stressed that improving well productivity and lower operating costs are making the company more resilient during periods of weak regional gas pricing. Beyond LNG exports, Tourmaline pointed to data centers and gas-fired power generation as another potentially important long-term demand driver for Western Canadian gas. Management said the company has spent roughly a year evaluating potential hyperscaler-related opportunities in Alberta, including possible behind-the-fence power projects tied to large data center developments. While no project was announced, the discussion reinforced a broader theme emerging across North America’s gas market: LNG exports may represent only one part of a larger wave of natural gas demand growth tied to power reliability, industrial expansion and AI-driven electricity consumption.

Trump gives go-ahead to major new Canada-US oil pipeline -  (AP) — President Donald Trump granted a key approval Thursday for a major new oil pipeline from Canada into the U.S. that’s been dubbed “Keystone Light” over its similarities to a contentious project blocked by the Biden administration. The three-foot-wide (1 meter) Bridger Pipeline Expansion would carry up to 550,000 barrels (87,400 cubic meters) of oil a day from Canada through Montana and Wyoming, where it would link with another pipeline. The pipeline needs additional state and federal environmental approvals before construction, which company officials expect to start next year. Environmentalists hope to stop the project over worries that the pipeline could break and spill. At peak volume, the 650-mile (1,050-kilometer) pipeline would move two-thirds as much oil as the better-known Keystone XL pipeline that got partially built before President Joe Biden, citing climate change, canceled its permit on the day he took office in 2021. Trump's plan to paint the Eisenhower office building could cost at least $7.5M, the White House says “Slightly different from the last administration. They wouldn’t sign a pipeline deal. And we have pipelines going up,” Trump said after signing his approval for it to cross the border between Saskatchewan and northeastern Montana. Trump in his first term approved the Keystone XL project in 2020 despite concerns from Native American tribes about possible spills and environmental groups about fossil fuels’ contribution to climate change. Its cancellation by Biden frustrated Canadian officials, including Prime Minster Justin Trudeau, after Alberta invested more than $1 billion in the project.Sometimes called “Keystone Light,” the Bridger Pipeline Expansion would not cross any Native American reservations. More than 70% would be built within existing pipeline corridors and 80% on private land, Bridger Pipeline LLC said in a statement. The line would carry various grades of crude, including from Canada’s oil sands region, to be exported or refined in the U.S., company spokesperson Bill Salvin said. The permit from Trump also authorizes other petroleum products including gasoline, kerosene, diesel and liquified petroleum gas. Salvin said including those fuels keeps the company’s options open, but it remains focused for now on crude oil. Bridger Pipeline could avoid a reversal by a future administration if it’s able to complete its project before Trump leaves office. It hopes to start construction in the fall of 2027 and finish it by late 2028 or early 2029, Bridger spokesperson Bill Salvin said.

Sempra Targets June for ECA First LNG as Startup Begins --First LNG from Sempra’s Energía Costa Azul (ECA) export project in Mexico is weeks away after the introduction of feed gas into Phase 1 and the launch of startup activities, the company confirmed Thursday. At a Glance:

• ECA targets summer substantial completion
• Permian gas finds Pacific outlet
• KKR deal supports utility pivot

US oil stocks plummet, country becomes net crude exporter on weekly basis for first time, EIA says  (Reuters) - The United States became a net exporter of crude for the first time since World War Two as ‌the country shipped a record volume of oil to refiners scrambling for supplies after the Iran war, leading to large drops in domestic inventories, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. Europe and Asia have increasingly become dependent on crude from the Americas after the U.S. and Israel's war on Iran triggered the largest-ever disruption to the global energy market and halted shipping via the Strait of Hormuz, which handles a fifth of the world's oil and gas supplies.  Total U.S. crude exports climbed to a record 6.44 million barrels ⁠per day, marking a 1.64 million bpd rise from the week prior. Oil futures extended gains following the report. Global Brent crude futures were up $8.11 at $119.37 a barrel at 12:35 p.m. ET (1635 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were up $7.06 a barrel at $106.91. Net imports of crude oil, or the difference between imports and exports, fell by 1.97 million bpd to minus 688,000 bpd, the first time it turned negative on a weekly basis, meaning outflows surpassed imports. On an annual basis, the U.S. was last a net exporter of crude in 1943, while on a monthly basis, the country was last a net exporter in 1944.  The large exports pushed U.S. crude inventories down by 6.2 million barrels to 459.5 million barrels in the week ended April 24, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 231,000-barrel draw. ‌Crude stocks ⁠at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub dropped by 796,000 barrels in the week, the EIA said. "Refineries didn't change. Domestic production was unchanged. It was all about the export numbers. Those barrels are going overseas rather than into storage," said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho. Total exports of crude oil and petroleum products also touched a record 14.18 million bpd, up 1.298 million bpd from the week prior. U.S. gasoline stocks fell by 6.1 million ⁠barrels in the week to 222.3 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 2.1 million-barrel draw. That marked the 11th straight week of draws, raising some concerns about fuel stocks as U.S. driving season looms.

U.S. Fuel Exports Hit Record High as Hormuz Crisis Reshapes Global Energy Flows -- US oil product exports surged to a record 8.2 million barrels per day last week as countries scrambled to replace fuel supplies disrupted by the Hormuz crisis, according to Bloomberg reporting, which noted that diesel exports led the increase and reached an all-time high.
Countries are now competing for refined products, including diesel, jet fuel, and gasoline as shipping disruptions around Hormuz destabilize downstream fuel systems tied to transportation, aviation, and industrial activity.  Europe’s growing jet fuel shortages and rising diesel demand across Asia are increasingly pulling more US barrels into international markets. The U.S. has effectively become the balancing supplier for global fuel markets while Gulf exports remain disrupted, giving Washington enormous pricing and supply influence even as the broader conflict continues destabilizing energy flows worldwide. Despite these record U.S. exports, however, it won’t be enough to fully replace lost Gulf supply. On top of the record volumes of refined products the U.S. is exporting abroad, it is also exporting more than 5 million barrels per day of crude, making it the supplier of last resort for global energy markets. Those barrels are increasingly coming from storage as inventories tighten and the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) remains heavily depleted from earlier emergency releases. In addition, port infrastructure along the Gulf Coast is also operating near capacity, and every additional export barrel increases pressure on domestic fuel markets already dealing with higher gasoline and diesel prices. That is starting to create a domestic political problem. Record export volumes help stabilize global markets, but they also tighten domestic supply balances and push American fuel prices higher at the exact moment the White House is trying to contain inflation heading into the midterms. Countries across Asia have already moved to restrict fuel exports to protect local supply. If gasoline and diesel prices continue climbing in the United States while American crude and refined products keep leaving the country at record levels, pressure for some form of export restriction or emergency intervention will start growing quickly in Washington.

US is oil supplier of last resort as Hormuz disruptions worsen -- The tankers have been arriving from all over the world in unprecedented numbers. After loading up in Alaska and along the US Gulf Coast, they head back out to sea — to Japan, Thailand and even as far as Australia. All told, over the past nine weeks, more than 250 million barrels of crude from oil wells and storage tanks across the US have been shipped overseas. That’s made the country, once again, the No. 1 exporter of crude, overtaking Saudi Arabia, and turned it into a lifeline for global consumers as the near closure of the Strait of Hormuz throttles Middle Eastern supplies.  But record American exports also come with warnings that this supply cushion is rapidly being pushed to its limits. Many energy experts are questioning how long shipments can be sustained at such levels. US domestic inventories are quickly depleting, with total oil and fuel stockpiles drawing down for four straight weeks to below historical averages. Meanwhile, America’s oil producers are struggling to keep up.  “Ships are coming to take our oil, but once significant volumes of oil are leaving the United States, it can be expected that balances will tighten,”  “We are digging ourselves a hole in terms of spending down inventories.” It’s a problem with global consequences. Even with a steady stream of US exports in recent weeks, it hasn’t been enough to eclipse the supply shortages sparked by the choking off of the strait. Brent crude, the key benchmark, has jumped roughly 50% since the war broke out and just last week topped $126 a barrel, the highest since 2022. If America’s crude shipments are now nearing their maximum, the competition for barrels will grow even stiffer.  Within the US, energy inflation is already projected to factor heavily into November’s midterm elections. Retail gasoline prices are soaring, and some voters are sure to question why so much oil is being shipped out to international markets. US President Donald Trump has been boasting about the surging exports. “This has been amazing,” he said Friday. “The amount of oil and gas that we’re selling now is at a level that nobody’s ever seen.” In the months after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the average cost of a gallon of unleaded gasoline in the US topped out just over $5 a gallon. It’s a threshold Energy Secretary Chris Wright has emphasized, to draw a contrast with lower fuel costs today. And it will be a key level to watch over the next few months leading into the election. Average prices for US retail gasoline have already topped $4.40 a gallon. “The United States is insulated, but not isolated,” from the energy crisis sweeping the world, said Jay Singh, head of US oil and gas research at Rystad Energy. Much of the oil leaving American shores during the Iran war has headed to Asia. The region’s refiners until recently relied on the Persian Gulf as their main source of oil supply, with the war now forcing a hard pivot toward US crude. One striking example is Japan. Before the war, the nation bought around 90% of its crude and fuel supply from the Middle East, along with only minimal volumes of American oil. Now the country is among those first out of the gate to snap up US supply. Sales of supplies that will be loaded in June, and which will arrive in August or thereabouts, began just days ago and Japanese refiners collectively have already bought at least 8 million barrels of US crude, said traders familiar with the matter. In Singapore, a regional commodity trading hub, refiners have also swung to purchasing more US crude. And demand from South Korea — long the world’s second-biggest buyer of US crude — remains strong. To be sure, Japan and South Korea have crude stockpiles of their own to help provide a buffer. Limited crude flows from the United Arab Emirates and Oman are also still taking place. Questions remain, however, over how long such supplies can last — especially with little publicly known about the national storage levels. And other exporters, such as Brazil, don’t typically ship the crude grades that these Asian nations need most. The transformation of the US from a net importer of oil to a major global supplier is relatively new.  The shift was sparked by the shale revolution of the early 2000s, when horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing from Texas to North Dakota swiftly boosted domestic production. In 2015, the US lifted a ban that prohibited most oil exports, which was imposed in the wake of the 1970s Arab oil embargo. By 2019, booming shale production made the country a net exporter of crude and fuels.  Analysts say America’s emergence as an energy juggernaut underpins its ability to take increasingly bold foreign policy steps. This year alone, the US ousted Venezuela’s long-time leader, enforced sanctions on two of Russia’s biggest oil companies and, along with Israel, started the war in Iran — all moves that threatened global crude balances. Trump — a relentless champion of what he calls America’s “energy dominance” — has repeatedly boasted about the ability of the US to help fill the massive crude supply gap created by the war in Iran.  “We have more oil production right now than any time in history,” Trump said to reporters on Friday. “And if you take a look at the ships, they’re all coming up to Texas, Louisiana, Alaska.”

Don’t You (Forget About Me) – Crude Oil Hogs the Spotlight, But Venezuela Has Major Gas Reserves Too | RBN Energy - Nearly all of the recent analysis of Venezuela has centered on crude oil and refined products, which makes sense since the country boasts about 300 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves, roughly 17% of the global total, although there’s skepticism about that estimate. But its extensive natural gas reserves shouldn’t be overlooked, especially at a time when many oil and gas firms are evaluating their plans for future investment there. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll look at where Venezuela’s gas reserves stand today, compare domestic production and consumption trends, and explain why LNG exports from Trinidad & Tobago’s Atlantic LNG terminal could play a role in boosting activity.Venezuela has been a frequent topic in the RBN blogosphere since the start of the year, when U.S. forces deposed and arrested President Nicolás Maduro. In Take Me Money and Run Venezuela, we recapped how the country went from a major global supplier to producing less than 1 MMb/d today — roughly one-quarter of its former output. We then dug into Venezuela’s crude slate in Orinoco Flow, noting that most reserves lie in the 21,000-square-mile Orinoco Belt and are extra-heavy, making the oil difficult and costly to transport and refine. In When Love Comes to Town, we compared Venezuelan and Canadian heavy crudes and why they’re attractive to U.S. Gulf Coast refiners. In Round and Round (which previewed our first Drill Down Report of 2026 — available here), we laid out the practical steps Venezuela would need to take to boost crude production. In The Show Goes On, we turned our attention to the country’s refining sector, while in Upgrade U we looked at the important role Venezuela’s crude upgraders figure to play in any plan to boost domestic production and increase exports.As we’ve noted previously, U.S. sanctions against Venezuela, along with chronic underinvestment and mismanagement by state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), are largely responsible for the sharp drop in crude oil production and refinery utilization, especially over the last decade. Those same factors have also impacted the country’s natural gas sector, where a poor investment climate, insufficient infrastructure, a lack of domestic demand, and an inability to develop gas projects for export have contributed to its prolonged underdevelopment. Venezuela has an estimated 200 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of conventional (non-associated) natural gas reserves, the seventh largest in the world and representing about 70% of South American reserves, according to a February report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). In addition, if Venezuelan oil production is reestablished to historical levels, that could represent another 160-200 Tcf of associated gas resources. For comparison, the U.S. had proved reserves of 583.9 Tcf at the end of 2024, according to an Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimate published in April. Although Venezuela’s conventional gas reserves are estimated to be about one-third of the U.S. total, actual production (about 80% of it associated gas, according to the EIA) pales in comparison at around 3 Bcf/d. Venezuelan gas production (blue line in Figure 1 below) was fairly steady between 1998 and 2018, holding between 2.93 Bcf/d (2011) and 3.74 Bcf/d (2017) in every year except 2003, when output dipped to 2.7 Bcf/d. Output dropped to 2.08 Bcf/d in the pandemic year of 2020 before rebounding back to more-normal levels by 2024. By comparison, production in the U.S. Lower 48 is approaching 110 Bcf/d, with Appalachia alone at about 36 Bcf/d. According to Energy Institute data (formerly the BP Statistical Review of Energy), domestic gas consumption has exactly matched production through the years, except during 2007-15 (orange line), when consumption was a little higher than output. (Small amounts of Colombian gas were imported during that period via the Trans-Caribbean pipeline to meet the supply gap. Venezuela terminated the pipeline contract in 2015. The pipeline has been idle since then.)Much of Venezuela’s gas is produced in the area near Anaco (black circle in Figure 2 below) in the country’s northeast, drawn from the nearby Santa Barbara, Furrial and Mesa 30 oil fields. Crude oil from the previously noted Orinoco Belt (orange-shaded area) produces very little associated gas and is quite similar to bitumen produced in Alberta. A significant percentage of domestic gas production is flared or vented into the atmosphere because the facilities to recover it and reinject it back into oil wells via enhanced oil recovery (EOR) are damaged and Venezuela lacks significant natural gas pipelines (gray lines) and infrastructure. Overall production in recent months has been around 4 Bcf/d, with volumes split between domestic consumption (~50%), system losses (flaring and venting, ~45%) and reinjection into oil fields (~5%). The Orinoco Belt and the country’s interior are flanked by offshore conventional gas fields to the northwest and the northeast. The Perla field (green circle at top left of Figure 2), a joint venture between Italy’s Eni (the block’s operator), Spain’s Repsol and PDVSA, produces about 580 MMcf/d, well under its potential, according to Natural Gas Intelligence (NGI). Reserves there are estimated at 17 Tcf. On the other end of the country, the Dragon field (green-shaded area at top right) is not currently in production, although its proximity to Trinidad & Tobago’s Hibiscus natural gas platform and the Atlantic LNG export terminal (red circle) is a major plus. (More on those below.) Reserves at Dragon are estimated at 4.2 Tcf.

Europe Proposes to Keep but Not Enforce Crazy Methane Import Law – Marcellus Drilling News -- The European Union’s idiotic methane regulations begin in earnest next year. Domestic (European) oil, gas, and coal companies must monitor, measure, and report their emissions. The same restrictions will apply to energy imports from other countries, including imports from the U.S. (see Europeans Presume to Impose Their Regulations on American Gas). The arrogant Euro weenies presume to tell us that we must follow *their* regulations! But then Trump took command of the White House, and everything changed. The Euro weenies have agonized over how to keep strict regs while saving face and allowing American LNG in. They have just the solution: keep the regs but don’t enforce them.

Global Natural Gas Benchmarks Rise as El Niño Threat Clouds LNG Supply Outlook --As global natural gas benchmarks shrug at shoulder season forecasts, the threat of El Niño is causing traders to weigh aggressive competition between Asian and European buyers in the coming months. Charts showing trailing 365-day mean temperatures for Northwest Europe, Beijing, Seoul, Tokyo through May 2026, comparing daily temperatures to normal trends, highlighting seasonal shifts impacting natural gas demand. At a Glance:
Asian heat lifts cooling demand
Hormuz risk keeps traders cautious
LNG feed gas boosts US demand

ExxonMobil Sees Long Qatar LNG Repair Timeline After Hormuz Crisis Hits Supply  - ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods said that 3% of the company’s global LNG production could remain offline for up to five years following damage to two liquefaction trains in Qatar.  Map of Persian Gulf LNG import and export terminals highlighting QatarEnergy, Das Island, Bahrain LNG, Jebel Ali FSRU, Ruwais FSRU, Al Zour, with Strait of Hormuz chokepoint, illustrating global LNG trade flows, Middle East gas infrastructure, energy security risks. At a Glance:
Qatar LNG damage drags supply
Hormuz closure curbs global cargoes
Repairs stretch three to five years

Why Hormuz Cannot Be Fully Replaced, Especially for LNG -– Marcellus Drilling News -- What happens on he other side of the world sometimes affects the Marcellus/Utica. So far, the Iran war has not affected prices (or demand) in the M-U for natural gas. However, if the war continues to drag on for months, it could potentially affect us by affecting the price of LNG on the world market. About one-fifth (20%) of global LNG trade depends on the Strait of Hormuz, with effectively no other way to get it out. Oil can, potentially, find other pathways out of the Persian Gulf (via overland pipelines). But such is not the case with LNG from Qatar.

Some LNG Passing Through Strait of Hormuz as Operators Conceal Vessel Movements - The United Arab Emirates’ ADNOC and others are hiding vessel movements and locations in an effort to slip LNG cargoes through the Strait of Hormuz, ship tracking data shows.The Mubaraz vessel became the first fully loaded LNG ship to transit the strait since the war began. It loaded a cargo on March 2 at Das Island. Kpler said last week it passed through the waterway and is now sending a signal with a destination of China. It’s unclear when it passed through the strait.Kpler also shows “dark activity” for the ADNOC-chartered Mraweh, which vessel tracking shows loaded April 24 and now has a destination of Japan. The concealed movements come as peace negotiations between the United States and Iran are ongoing and naval fighting continues in the Persian Gulf.

Australia Orders LNG Exporters to Reserve 20% of Gas for Domestic Market - Australia’s government has mandated energy companies in the country to set aside 20% of their natural gas output for the domestic market to avoid supply shortages along the east coast. The mandate will come into effect from July next year, Reuters reported today, adding that it will affect three companies with LNG facilities on the east coast of Australia: Shell, Santos, and Origin Energy. The mandates will not interfere with long-term LNG export contracts, concerning instead spot market sales and prospective contracts, according to Australia’s energy minister. “This is a carefully calibrated model which ensures that Australia's national best interests are put first,” Chris Bowen told the media. “This is a policy which will obviously not please everyone - often good policy doesn't - but it's good policy.” The energy industry is far from thrilled with this good policy, however. The idea of gas reserve mandates first emerged in 2017, leading to the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism aimed at making sure one of the top global exporters of liquefied natural gas did not suffer shortages at home. Big Oil immediately responded with warnings that this could discourage further investment in the country’s gas industry, which is necessary to boost supply, including for the domestic market, for the future. The east coast of Australia is particularly vulnerable to supply shortages. Last year, the country's competition regulator warned the market could swing into a deficit by December. That danger was temporarily averted thanks to the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism, but the competition authority still warned last year that the risk of shortages remains. In fact, the competition authority last October said gas supply for the eastern coast will swing into a surplus in the first quarter of this year, with the size of the surplus estimated at between 2 and 24 petajoules. That was before the U.S. and Israel bombed Iran on February 28, which changed the global supply situation radically, bringing the risk of a shortage closer as demand for non-Middle Eastern LNG surged.

Pakistan 'rejects' LNG supply bids for May spot cargoes -  Pakistan has rejected bids for spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes for May as the country faces growing uncertainty over energy shipments, sources in the Ministry of Energy said on Friday. The bids were invited by Pakistan LNG Limited (PLNG) for the purchase of two spot LNG cargoes scheduled for delivery between May 12-14 and May 24-26. According to sources, seven bids were received for the two cargoes. The lowest bid for the May 12-14 delivery window stood at $17.28 per mmbtu. For the May 24-26 delivery window, the lowest offer came in at $16.98 per mmbtu, the sources said. However, both the lowest bids for spot LNG supply were rejected by the Pakistan LNG Board, according to Ministry of Energy sources. The sources further said that earlier bids for the procurement of two spot LNG cargoes for May had also been rejected. The country rejected the offers as there are indications that it may be able to secure LNG supplies from Qatar under long-term contractual arrangements at significantly lower prices, according to a report by The News. Citing officials familiar with the development, The News reported that the decision appeared linked to positive signals from Qatar regarding the availability of two LNG cargoes that could be routed through the Strait of Hormuz. The sources said Qatar had earlier shown reluctance in supplying additional LNG cargoes to Pakistan due to fears surrounding regional security risks and potential disruption to shipping routes in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the report. However, recent geopolitical developments and Pakistan’s evolving diplomatic role in the region are believed to have improved confidence regarding LNG transportation, it said. Pakistan last received an LNG cargo on April 30, providing a much-needed boost to the country’s energy sector. LNG carrier Seapeak Magellan docked at the Pakistan GasPort terminal on April 30 and started feeding re-gasified LNG (RLNG) into the national network, according to The News. The cargo — arranged by TotalEnergies at a price of $18.40 per mmbtu — marked the first LNG shipment to reach the country since a US-origin cargo arrived

Uzbekistan records second oil spill in Surkhandarya in recent weeks - Uzbekistan recorded a new oil-mixed liquid leak in Surkhandarya Region’s Boysun (Baysun) district on May 2 following a powerful mudflow, according to the National Committee for Ecology and Climate Change of Uzbekistan. The incident occurred at around 06:30, when heavy flooding damaged a protective trench, allowing oil-contaminated liquid to spill into the surrounding area. Preliminary findings indicate that the mudflow caused the structure to collapse, leading to the leak. A joint working group, including specialists from the regional ecology department and environmental enforcement officers, has been deployed to the site. Authorities are currently assessing the situation and evaluating the environmental impact of the spill. Officials stated that the situation has been brought under control, while monitoring and investigation efforts are ongoing. Additional information will be provided once final conclusions are reached. Earlier incident was reported on April 23 in Boysun, where oil-contaminated liquid flowed into the Xongaronsoy (Khongaronsoy) River from a well operated by Surkhan Gas Chemical Operating Company. According to a special commission, around 1.2 tonnes of oil-mixed liquid entered the river after heavy rainfall, causing environmental damage estimated at over UZS 8.5bn ($670,000). Cleanup operations were subsequently carried out, and the contaminated water was treated. Investigations into the earlier incident are still ongoing.weeks earlier.

Chevron CEO Says Physical Shortages in Oil Supply to Begin Appearing (Reuters) – Chevron Chairman and CEO Mike Wirth said on Monday that physical shortages in oil supply would begin appearing around the world because of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of global crude supply passes. Economies will begin shrinking, first in Asia, as demand adjusts to meet supply while the strait remains closed because of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, Wirth said during a discussion sponsored by the Milken Institute.

Goldman Says Global Oil Stocks Approaching Eight-Year Low, Depletion Speed a Concern (Reuters) – Global oil stocks are approaching their lowest level in eight years, Goldman Sachs said on Monday, warning that the speed ‌of depletion was becoming a concern as supplies through the Strait of Hormuz remained restricted. Oil prices jumped about 6% on Monday after Iran hit several ships in the Strait of Hormuz ⁠and set a UAE oil port ablaze, as President Donald Trump’s attempt to use the U.S. Navy to free up shipping provoked the biggest escalation since a ceasefire was declared four weeks ago.  The bank estimated total global oil stocks stood at 101 days of global demand and could fall ‌to ⁠98 days by the end of May. Goldman added that while total global stocks are “unlikely to hit minimum operational levels this summer, the speed of depletion and ⁠supply losses in some regions and products is concerning.” The bank estimated that global commercial refined products stocks have ⁠drawn down from 50 DoD before the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran to 45 DoD now. The ⁠bank added that easily accessible refined products buffers were fast approaching very low levels.

Black tide from US-Israeli aggression on Iran chokes Persian Gulf turtle nesting sanctuary  - Black crude now clings to the shoreline of Shidvar Island – an uninhabited island in the Persian Gulf known for picturesque beaches and blue waters – like a second skin. Days after US-Israeli military aggression targeted Iran's civilian oil infrastructure on Lavan Island last month, the pale coral beaches of this protected Persian Gulf sanctuary were swallowed by a continuous band of tar as petroleum pollutants spread across its waters. What was once an undisturbed crescent of white sand has been transformed into an oily black seam, raising urgent questions about the fate of the hawksbill turtles, migratory seabirds, and coral formations that make Shidvar one of the most ecologically sensitive islands in Iranian waters. On this tiny, uninhabited refuge – known locally as Maro – there is still no complete accounting of what has happened beneath that black sheen. Whether nesting turtles managed to crawl ashore to lay their eggs, whether hatchlings suffocated beneath contaminated sand, whether breeding colonies of terns abandoned their nesting grounds, or how much of Iran's only protected coral reef ecosystem has already absorbed irreversible toxic damage – nothing is clear yet. What is visible, however, is enough to establish one fact with brutal clarity: the consequences of the US-Israeli war of aggression did not stop at burning fuel depots and damaged refinery channels. They moved outward with the tide. The contamination traces back to the April 8 attack on the Lavan refinery complex, one of Iran's major civilian petroleum facilities in the Persian Gulf. Iranian officials say the strike took place even after a ceasefire had been declared, rupturing sections of oil transfer infrastructure and allowing petroleum materials to escape into adjacent marine waters. From there, Persian Gulf currents pushed the contamination across the southern and eastern beaches of Lavan and through the narrow waters separating Lavan from Shidvar Island – a protected wildlife reserve only about 1.5 kilometers away. Within days, images from the scene showed long stretches of coastline coated in dark residue, while field inspections confirmed that the spill was no longer a localized refinery accident but the beginning of a wider coastal ecological emergency. According to Habib Masihi-Taziani, Director General of the Hormozgan Department of Environment, the pollution has affected far more than a single island. "Nearly the entire coastal strip of Hormozgan – both the islands and the mainland – has suffered extensive petroleum contamination as a result of the enemy's attack on non-military facilities," he said. The official confirmed that the oil slick reaching Lavan and Shidvar has directly damaged "the habitat and nesting grounds of hawksbill sea turtles," warning that the incident struck during one of the most vulnerable ecological windows of the year. That timing is central to understanding the scale of the disaster. April and May mark the primary nesting season for the hawksbill turtle, a species classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as critically endangered. Female hawksbills return with remarkable precision to the same quiet sandy strips each year, hauling themselves ashore at night to bury eggs in warm upper beaches. Shidvar and nearby sections of Lavan are among the few remaining secure nesting corridors for these turtles in the northern Persian Gulf.

Saudi Arabia Accelerates Red Sea Pivot As Iran Chokes Strait Of Hormuz – i24NEWS  As Iran continues to place a stranglehold on shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, Saudi Arabia is looking to reposition its economy around the Red Sea coast. Fast-tracking alternative trade infrastructure, Riyadh is promoting a shift to its NEOM Port, a component of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's broader gigaproject on the Red Sea.  The Saudi government describes the port as a regional logistics hub connecting Europe, Egypt, and the Gulf. In mid-April, the official NEOM account on X posted, "Europe, Egypt, NEOM, Gulf: Your faster route," alongside a map showing corridors running from European ports through Egypt's Damietta and Safaga ports, across the Red Sea to NEOM, and overland into Kuwait, Iraq, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, and Oman.  The port received 2.2 million tons of cargo in 2024, roughly 2 percent of Saudi imports, and satellite imagery from early March showed a large number of freight trucks on site, pointing to growing activity. Broader infrastructure has also shifted. Separately from the Port of NEOM, the Port of Yanbu, also on the Red Sea, has experienced a surge of exports since February.  According to data research group Kpler, Yanbu saw more than 29 million barrels per week in early April. Saudi Arabia was able to make this shift, by rerouting crude oil through an east-west pipeline originally built during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. However, due to capacity constraints, this is barely half the amount of barrels typically shipped through Saudi Arabia's east coast port, Ras Tanura.  Limited infrastructure further plagues Saudi Arabia's ability to shift to the Red Sea. Because there is no train connection between the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, a $27 billion plan to build a nearly 1,000 mile-long rail line from Riyadh to Jeddah is in the works, but has faced repeated delays and is expected to be completed in eight years, in 2034. Moving to the west coast of Saudi Arabia doesn't come without any risk. West Coast ports like Yanbu, as well as the east-west pipeline, have been targeted in the past by Iranian strikes.  The Houthis in Yemen, who are allied with Iran and enemies of the Saudi crown, can also threaten the region, particularly the Strait of Bab al-Mandab, between Yemen and Djibouti in the southern end of the Red Sea. Additionally, back in 2019, the Houthis struck the east-west pipeline, halting nearly 700,000 barrels of oil per day for several days. Despite the pivot, analysts say a permanent bypass of Hormuz is not yet feasible, at least in the short term. While the NEOM port has been described as a tool for diversifying routes, it is not a standalone alternative to the Strait of Hormuz.

OPEC+ announces 188,000 barrels-per-day output increase in first meeting without UAE  --OPEC+ has agreed an increase in oil output of 188,000 barrels per day, the cartel said on Sunday, as it pushes on with production in the first meeting since the loss of its key member, the United Arab Emirates.  The group of seven major oil producers announced it would increase June production by slightly less than May's output hike of 206,000 bpd. Sunday's figure excludes the United Arab Emirates share of output, which officially departed OPEC on May 1.  The seven countries included Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman."In their collective commitment to support oil market stability, the seven participating countries decided to implement a production adjustment of 188 thousand barrels per day from the additional voluntary adjustments announced in April 2023," OPEC said in its statement.Oil supply has been choked since the Iran war began on February 28, as the Strait of Hormuz – a vital shipping route for global oil and gas supplies – has remained effectively closed. Oil prices fell Friday after Iran sent an updated peace proposal to mediators in Pakistan, raising hopes again that a settlement with the U.S. is still possible.U.S. crude oil futures fell 3% to close at $101.94 per barrel. The international benchmark Brent crude lost nearly 2% to settle at $108.17. Both are nearly 78% higher since the start of 2026.U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday he had been told about the concept of a deal with Iran, but was waiting for the exact wording, while warning there was still the possibility of restarting strikes on the country if Tehran misbehaves. Reuters quoted a senior Iranian official as saying on Saturday that an Iranian proposal so far rejected by Trump would open shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and end the U.S. blockade of Iran while leaving talks on Iran's nuclear program for later.Concerns around production were amplified further on Tuesday with news of the shock departure of the UAE, the cartel's third-largest producer.The Gulf state concluded that exiting the group was in its national interest following a comprehensive review of its production policy and capacity, the Energy Ministry said in a written statement.  The UAE had played an influential role in OPEC's decisions over nearly six decades and was the group's third-largest oil producer in February, behind Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

Oil Prices Fall as Trump Pledges to Assist Ships in Strait of Hormuz --Crude prices were slightly lower ahead of European markets opening as traders digested comments from US President Donald Trump that Washington would help ships leave the Strait of Hormuz from today. Iran, however, has rejected the plan, The Caspian Post reports, citing foreign media. At the time of writing, the price of a barrel of US benchmark crude (WTI) was down 0.28% to $101.65 a barrel, while Brent crude, the international standard, edged down 0.06% to $108.10 a barrel. Much hinges now on progress towards ending the war with Iran and unlocking the bottleneck through the Strait of Hormuz. The oil market “remains the fulcrum, with hundreds of tankers, bulk carriers, and cargo ships still stranded across the Gulf, idling as storage constraints force producers to shut ... production simply because there is nowhere left to store it,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary note. Trump said what he called “Project Freedom” would begin Monday morning in the Middle East. The US Central Command said it would involve guided-missile destroyers, more than 100 aircraft and 15,000 service members, but the Pentagon did not immediately answer questions about how they would be deployed. The main uncertainty for the global economy is where oil prices are heading because of the Iran war. Oil prices moved higher last week on worries that the war might keep the Strait of Hormuz closed for a long time, trapping oil tankers pent up in the Persian Gulf instead of delivering crude to customers worldwide. Brent was selling for a little more than $70 per barrel before the war began, and soaring prices helped the two biggest U.S. oil companies report stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. But stock prices nevertheless fell for both Exxon Mobil, 1%, and Chevron, 1.4%, as oil prices regressed Friday and each reported drops in net income from a year earlier. In other dealings early Monday, the dollar rose to 157.18 Japanese yen from 156.80 yen. The euro fell to $1.1724 from $1.1746.

Oil Prices Rise on Mounting Tensions Over Strait of Hormuz (DTN) -- Oil and product futures jumped Monday morning on reports that Iran fired warning shots at a U.S. warship trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Near 8:10 a.m. EDT, ICE Brent for July delivery rose $2.68 to $110.85 bbl, and NYMEX WTI for June delivery advanced $1.48 to $103.42 bbl. Downstream, NYMEX ULSD futures for June delivery edged higher $0.0183 to $3.9647 gallon, and front-month NYMEX RBOB futures moved up $0.0259 to $3.6211 gallon. The U.S. Dollar Index strengthened by 0.28 points to 98.285 against a basket of foreign currencies. U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday announced that the U.S. Navy starting Monday would provide safe passage and guide stranded vessels through the waterway blockaded since early March, putting downward pressure on prices. Prices reversed course Monday morning, however, after reports emerged that a U.S. warship trying to break the Iranian blockade turned around after Iran fired warning shots. Roughly a fifth of global petroleum supply has been stranded in the Persian Gulf since Iran blockaded the strait in response to the U.S. and Israel launching attacks at the end of February. U.S. attempts to restart flows, which the President dubbed "Project Freedom," may also jeopardize the ceasefire in place since early April. Tehran over the weekend extended its territorial claim over the Strait of Hormuz and said it would consider any U.S. interference a breach of the ceasefire. Hopes for an immediate diplomatic resolution of the conflict faded further after the White House over the weekend rejected Iran's new 14-point proposal to permanently cease hostilities. The plan reportedly allowed Iran to continue uranium enrichment and assert control over traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, opposing two key U.S. demands. At the same time, President Trump in the same social media post announcing "Project Freedom" claimed that U.S. representatives were in "very good talks" with Iran which could lead to "something very positive for all". Seven OPEC+ members, meanwhile, on Sunday decided to raise production quotas for June by 188,000 bpd. The move by the group which just lost the UAE as a member was purely symbolic, given current production shut-ins caused by the lack of outlets and full inventories.

Oil jumps after Iran's navy said it halted a US warship (Reuters) - Brent crude oil jumped over 5% on Monday and the dollar strengthened after Iran's navy said it had prevented a U.S. warship from entering the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. stock futures, European stocks and bond prices fell.   The pan-European STOXX 600 index was last down 0.5%, while the blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 was 1.2% lower. Germany's 10-year bond yield DE10YT=RR, the benchmark for the euro zone bloc, was last up 4 basis points at 3.073%. Bond yields move inversely with prices. Iran's navy prevented "American-Zionist" warships entering the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, state TV reported, while the Fars news agency said two missiles had hit a U.S. warship near Jask on the Gulf of Oman after it ignored Iranian warnings. Reuters could not independently verify the reports. On social media site X, U.S. Central Command, part of the U.S. Department of Defense, said that no ships had been struck.  Iran's military had earlier on Monday warned U.S. forces not to enter the Strait of Hormuz after President Donald Trump said the U.S. would start helping to free ships stranded in the Gulf by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. He provided few details of the plan. Against this backdrop, Brent crude futures surged over $5.00 to $113.65 per barrel, having recovered from an initial decline during Asian trading hours. Analysts said, however, high prices were not sustainable longer term because of their impact on demand and the economy. "The market is being pulled in two opposing directions right now: on one hand, geopolitical risk is pushing oil higher and reviving inflation fears, but on the other, underlying growth especially in the U.S., is clearly softening," said Bruno Schneller, managing partner at Erlen Capital Management, a multi-family office.   This combination was driving some of the big market swings recorded in stocks, bonds and currencies, he added.

Brent Races to $115 as Drones Hit UAE Energy Hub, Hormuz (DTN) -- Energy markets rallied anew Monday, driving crude futures up 6%, after an Iranian drone attack on a petroleum complex in the United Arab Emirates stoked new fires in the Middle East conflict. The strike on the VTTI Fujairah Terminals in UAE's eastern port city of Fujairah marked the first major escalation in almost a month in the conflict, after an April 8 ceasefire that halted U.S.-Israel bombing of Iran and Tehran's reciprocal strikes on its neighbors' oil facilities.  Media images showed thick smoke billowing from the Fujairah plant, part of the global VTTI network owned by Dutch energy trader Vitol and Australia's IFM Investors. Media reports said a UAE oil tanker was also targeted by two drones while passing through the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway Iran has pledged to control in its bid to collect reparations for the war from vessels that, prior to the war, delivered a fifth of the world's energy needs. Separately, the U.S. Navy exchanged fire with Iranian gunboats after U.S. President Donald Trump announced the U.S. would be creating a path for some 2,000 ships reportedly waiting to pass the Hormuz. In normal times, the waterway provides passage to 140 ships per day, carrying around 20 million bpd of petroleum liquids. Aside from Tehran's policing of the strait, the U.S. Navy is blocking any ship from entering or leaving Iran's ports. The renewed U.S.-Iran escalation and tensions around the Hormuz drove NYMEX WTI crude for June delivery up $4.48, or 4%, to $106.42 bbl at the close. By 2:30 p.m. EDT, global crude benchmark Brent was up $6.26, or 6%, to $114.43 barrel for the July contract on ICE Brent, reflecting the greater impact on oil supply outside of the U.S. Brent's session high was $115.30. Downstream, NYMEX ULSD futures for June delivery edged up by $0.1236 to $4.0700 gallon. NYMEX RBOB futures for June climbed $0.1436 to $3.7388 gallon. The U.S. Dollar Index advanced by 0.335 points to 98.4 against a basket of foreign currencies.

Oil Prices Jump 6% as Iran Sets UAE Oil Port Ablaze, Strikes Vessels in Strait of Hormuz  (Reuters) – Oil prices jumped about 6% on Monday as Iran stepped up attacks on the United Arab Emirates and ships in the Middle East Gulf over the past 24 hours, the most serious escalation since a U.S.-Iran ceasefire came into force in early April. Brent futures rose $6.27, or 5.8%, to settle at $114.44 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $4.48, or 4.4%, to settle at $106.42. Iran hit several ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday and set a UAE oil port ablaze, as President Donald Trump’s attempt to use the U.S. Navy to free up shipping provoked the war’s biggest escalation since a ceasefire was declared four weeks ago. The UAE said its air defenses were engaging missile and drone threats on Monday evening as firefighters battled a blaze at a major oil industry zone following a drone attack that authorities said had originated from Iran. The U.S. military said it destroyed six Iranian small boats and intercepted Iranian cruise missiles and drones fired by Tehran as it sought to thwart a new U.S. naval effort to open shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.    Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Navy, meanwhile, issued a map that it said was expanding the areas controlled by Iran near the Strait of Hormuz to include the UAE’s ports of Fujairah and Khorfakkan as well as the coast of Umm Al Quwain emirate in the UAE, according to Iranian news agencies.About 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies passed through the strait before the U.S. and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28. “Oil will remain above $100 and U.S. gasoline prices will reach $5 a gallon by June… without a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz,” analysts from consultancy Eurasia Group said in a note. Motorists in California were already paying $6 a gallon for gasoline.Earlier in the day, the U.S. military said two U.S. merchant ships had made it through the strait, without saying when. Iran denied any crossings had taken place.Iran may have attacked four ships in the Gulf region over the past 24 hours, including vessels from South Korea and the UAE. There was a fire and an explosion on a vessel operated by South Korean shipper HMM 011200.KS in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, the foreign ministry in Seoul said. The UAE accused Iran of attacking an empty crude oil tanker belonging to Abu Dhabi state oil firm ADNOC with drones as it attempted to transit the Strait. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), meanwhile, said it received a report of an incident involving a cargo vessel about 36 nautical miles north of Dubai. The UKMTO also reported a separate incident earlier in the day near the UAE. Separately, the energy minister in the UAE, which left OPEC last week, said the country owes it to its investment partners to produce what global oil markets require without restrictions, while cooperating with other crude producers. OPEC and its allies, known as OPEC+, said they would raise oil output targets by 188,000 barrels per day in June for seven members, marking the third consecutive monthly increase.

Crude Oil Prices Fall Up To 2 Pc Even As West Asia Conflict Intensifies - Global crude oil prices declined sharply on Tuesday, falling up to 2 per cent despite a fresh escalation in West Asia, as the conflict entered its third month. The international oil benchmark Brent crude slipped 1.36 per cent to $112.88 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell 2.34 per cent to $103.92 per barrel. On the domestic front, crude oil futures (June 18) on the Multi Commodity Exchange traded lower, down 1.12 per cent or Rs 109 at Rs 9,578. Prices eased after a sharp rally in the previous session, even as geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran persisted. The global oil benchmark had risen overnight to nearly $114 per barrel. Meanwhile, the rupee opened 22 paise lower, hovering near record lows. The Indian currency was trading at 95.31 against the dollar after closing at a record low of 95.09 in the previous session. Iran reportedly launched attacks in the Gulf in response to US moves, as both sides vie for control over the Strait of Hormuz, a key route connecting the Gulf to global markets and carrying nearly 20 per cent of the world’s daily oil and gas supply. Both sides carried out attacks in the Gulf, turning the Strait of Hormuz into a flashpoint and raising fears that the fragile ceasefire could collapse. A market expert said the resumption of hostilities in the Hormuz region and Brent crude rising again to around $113 are headwinds for the market. The latest missile and drone attacks came after US President Donald Trump moved to escort stranded tankers and cargo ships through the Strait, that has been largely blocked since the US and Israel launched their campaign against Iran in February.

Oil Slips as US Attempts to Free Hormuz Strait -- Oil and product futures fell Tuesday morning on U.S. attempts to clear the Strait of Hormuz blocked by Iran as ramped up hostilities kept the key waterway for energy markets at the front and center of the Middle East conflict. By 8:00 a.m. EDT, ICE Brent for July delivery fell $1.87 to $112.57 bbl, and NYMEX WTI for June delivery slipped $2.51 to $103.91 bbl.  Downstream, NYMEX ULSD futures for June delivery retreated $0.0331 to $4.0401 gallon, and front-month NYMEX RBOB futures softened by $0.0537 to $3.6845 gallon. The U.S. Dollar Index advanced by 0.1 points to 98.36 against a basket of foreign currencies. Energy prices slid as U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, at a news conference with top U.S. general Dan Caine, said dozens of ships were lining up in the Hormuz for U.S. help to cross the narrow chokepoint which Iranian forces have blocked for most of the 66 days since the U.S.-Israel war against Iran began. The blockade, along with a U.S. embargo on any vessel movement in and out of Iranian ports, has virtually paralyzed the Middle East oil trade which used to supply a fifth of the world's daily energy needs. An U.S.-Iranian ceasefire, in place since early April, looked to stand on shaky ground after an exchange of attacks on Monday resulting from a U.S. attempt to force open the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. military said it had destroyed six Iranian boats approaching a Navy ship, after Iranian warning shots earlier in the day forced another U.S. warship attempting to breach the blockade to turn around. Iran in response launched a fresh wave of missile and drone attacks on the United Arab Emirates, causing a fire at the port of Fujairah, one of the most important oil storage, refining and export hubs in the region. Monday's U.S. and Iranian attacks fueled concerns of the ceasefire breaking, leading front-month Brent futures to rally by almost 6%. On top of a rising geopolitical risk premium, most oil supply from the region continued to be disrupted. U.S. attempts to restart flows, which President Donald Trump dubbed "Project Freedom," have so far failed as vessel traffic through the vital energy chokepoint continued to be at a virtual standstill. Amid the escalation in fighting, Washington D.C. and Tehran continued to tout "progress" on the diplomatic front, moderating the rise in the risk premium. A second round of negotiations, however, has yet to be held after direct talks mediated by Pakistan more than three weeks ago yielded no results.

Oil prices fall 4% as fragile US-Iran ceasefire holds, two ships pass through Strait of Hormuz (Reuters) - Oil prices fell about 4% in volatile trade on Tuesday, as two vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz and the ‌United States said the ceasefire with Iran remained in place despite exchanges of fire. After jumping about 6% in the prior session, Brent futures fell $4.57, or 4%, to settle at $109.87 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell $4.15, or 3.9%, to settle at $102.27.  "The complex may have seen some selling related to optimistic comments from the Trump Administration regarding the continued ceasefire with Iran,"  "But today’s price weakness looked more like a technical correction following a strong ... Brent price advance during ⁠the past week,"  The United Arab Emirates said it was under attack from Iranian missiles and drones on Tuesday, even as Washington said a shaky ceasefire was intact and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. had secured a path through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran denied it attacked the UAE in recent days. Hegseth said hundreds of ships were lining up to pass through the critical waterway. Before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, about 20% of global oil supplies passed through the strait daily. The U.S. military said two U.S. merchant ships made it through the strait, without saying when, with the support of Navy guided-missile destroyers. Iran denied any crossings had taken place, though shipping company Maersk MAERSKb.CO, opens new tab said the Alliance Fairfax, a U.S.-flagged ship, under U.S. military escort on Monday. U.N. Security Council members will begin talks on Tuesday ‌on a ⁠U.S.- and Bahrain‑backed draft resolution that could lead to sanctions against Iran, and potentially authorize force, if Tehran fails to halt attacks and threats to commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, three Western diplomats said. U.S. President Donald Trump dismissed Iran's military capability on Tuesday and said Tehran "should wave the white flag of surrender," noting Iran's military has been reduced to firing "peashooters" and that Tehran privately wants to make a deal. The U.S. military said it destroyed six Iranian small boats, as well ⁠as cruise missiles and drones, after Trump sent the navy to escort stranded tankers through the strait in a campaign he called "Project Freedom." South Korea is reviewing whether to join Trump's plan to help ships transit through the strait, an official said on Tuesday, following an explosion and fire on a Korean-operated ship in the ⁠waterway. The oil market awaited direction from weekly storage reports from the American Petroleum Institute trade group later on Tuesday and the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Wednesday. Analysts estimated energy firms pulled 3.3 million barrels of crude from storage during the week ended May 1.

Oil prices fall a second day as Trump indicates possible Iran peace deal - Oil prices fell for a second day on Wednesday (May 6) on expectations bottled up supply from the key Middle East producing region could resume flowing after US President Donald Trump indicated a possible peace deal may be reached to end the war with Iran. Brent crude futures for July fell US$1.52, or 1.38 per cent, to US$108.35 per barrel as at 9.03 am in Singapore, after dropping 4 per cent in the previous session. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures for June declined US$1.50, or 1.47 per cent, to US$100.77, after closing down 3.9 per cent the day before. On Tuesday, Trump unexpectedly said that he would briefly pause an operation to help escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, citing progress towards a comprehensive agreement with Iran, without giving details on the agreement. There was no immediate reaction from Teheran, where it was very early on Wednesday morning.Still, Trump said that the US Navy would continue its blockade of Iranian ports. The Strait of Hormuz, which typically carries cargoes equal to about one-fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas supply, has been most cut off since the US-Israeli war against Iran began on Feb 28. The supply loss to the global market has pushed prices higher with Brent trading last week at its highest since March 2022. “We have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom ... will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalised and signed,” Trump wrote on social media. Trump’s announcement came only hours after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed reporters on the effort, announced on Sunday, to escort stranded tankers through the strait.  On Monday, the US military said that it had destroyed several Iranian small boats, as well as cruise missiles and drones, while guiding two vessels out of the Gulf through the strait. The Strait of Hormuz closure has drawn down global inventories as refineries try to make up the shortfall. US crude oil inventories fell for a third week, while petrol and distillate stocks also declined, market sources said on Tuesday, citing American Petroleum Institute figures. Crude stocks fell by 8.1 million barrels in the week ended May 1, the sources said. Petrol inventories fell by 6.1 million barrels, while distillate inventories fell by 4.6 million barrels compared to a week earlier, the sources said.

Oil prices plunge on reports US and Iran nearing peace deal - Oil prices slumped more than 10 per cent on Wednesday after reports that the US and Iran are nearing a deal to end the war that has strangled a fifth of global oil and gas supplies.Brent, the benchmark for two thirds of the world's oil, plunged 10 per cent but recovered some lost ground to trade 8 per cent lower at 101.83 a barrel at 4.23pm UAE time. West Texas Intermediate, the gauge that tracks US crude, which slumped more than 12 per cent was trading 8.43 per cent lower at $93.65 a barrel.For the week, both Brent and WTI have lost more than 11 per cent. Brent last settled below $100 mark on April 24, while WTI last closed below $90 on April 21.“The twists and turns continue. The United States called off the safeguarding of trade through Hormuz again, keeping uncertainty high, and transits are down to a trickle for the time being,” said Norbert Rucker, head of economics and next-generation research at Julius Baer. “Politics aside, the oil market has moved past the initial shock reaction and has settled in a regime of deficit absorption by inventory draws. There is breathing room to deal with the supply shock beyond summer.”The US and ⁠Iran ⁠are closing in on ⁠a one-page agreement to end ⁠their war, a ⁠Pakistani ‌source involved in the peace efforts told Reuters on Wednesday, confirming an earlier Axios report.Washington expects Tehran's responses on a number of critical points within the next 48 hours, although nothing has been finalised.A new round of talks between the two sides could take place either in Pakistan, which has been mediating during the ceasefire, or in Geneva.This is the closest the US and Iran have been to a peace deal since the US and Israel started a bombing campaign on February 28, media reports cited source as saying.“We will ‌close ⁠this very soon. We ‌are ⁠getting close,” one source told Axios.While the warring parties negotiate, traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world's energy shipments transited before the war, remains at almost zero.It briefly rose in late April, with crossings hitting 48 on April 27 and 41 on April 28, before falling back to between four and six daily crossings from April 29 to May 3, according to industry data.The full reopening of the waterway is expected to ease the pressure on oil markets, though the industry and analysts have said that it would take a while before normal market activity is resumed.

WTI Holds Rebound Gains As US Fuel Exports Hit Record High, Production Dips, Huge SPR Drain  -  Oil prices are lower overnight (but dramatically off their lows) amid on-again, off-again optimism of an imminent US-Iran peace deal. Benchmark Brent fell as much as 12% to $96.75 a barrel in London, while West Texas Intermediate dropped up to 13%. European natural gas plunged as much as 14%. Oil and gas later pared about half of those losses after Trump said in a Truth Social post on Wednesday that if Iran doesn’t agree, “the bombing starts.” Overnight we saw huge across the board drawdowns in US energy inventories reported by API (and a huge SPR drain). All eyes on the official data this morning... API":

• Crude -8.1mm (-2.8mm exp)
• Cushing -1mm
• Gasoline -6.1mm
• Distillates -4.6mm

DOE:

• Crude -2.313mm (-2.8mm exp)
• Cushing -648k
• Gasoline -2.504mm
• Distillates -1.294mm

For the second week in a row, US inventories saw significant declines across the board with products seeing the biggest draws. Crude's drawdown was a modest disappointment (especially after API's big report)... Graphics Source: Bloomberg. Overall, crude stockpiles remain elevated (but are drawing down)... Perhaps most notably, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is seeing massive drawdowns to support the global loss of supply from Hormuz. On the back of that draw, Bloomberg's energy guru, Javier Blas, dropped this stunning chart showing that, on a 7-day moving average, global oil liftings (into tankers) have recovered to their pre-war level due to a surge in liftings in the Americas. Of course, that's helped by massive stock drawdowns / SPR drain, but still... Additionally, last week saw US crude exports actually decline (after nearing the unprecedented level of 100 million barrels in 7 days). The decline in crude cargoes headed overseas pulled down overall US oil and fuels exports from record high levels also set the week earlier, even as fuel exports rose to the highest weekly level ever. The US has sent out at least 1.5 million barrels of diesel a day since the week of April 3. US crude production continued to trend lower... WTI fell dramatically below $100 overnight but amid Trump's 'bombastic' comments and Iranian denials, pries are well off their lows “The oil price is reacting on shift in sentiment instead of market balances, driven by news of a potential deal between the US and Iran,” said Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst at UBS Group AG in Zurich. “It remains unclear when flow through the strait would resume.” Still, any breakthrough in peace talks will take much longer to filter through to energy markets. “When the Strait opens we do believe it will take half a year for oil to get back to normal,” Equinor Chief Financial Officer Torgrim Reitan said on the company’s quarterly earnings conference call. “For gas, it will take much longer.”

Oil prices slide on reports US and Iran are nearing peace agreement (Reuters) - Oil prices fell sharply to two-week lows on Wednesday as optimism grew about a possible end to the war in the Middle East, with reports the United States and Iran were nearing an ‌initial peace deal. Brent crude futures settled $8.60, or 7.83%, lower at $101.27 a barrel, having earlier dropped below $100 for the first time ‌since April 22. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude lost $7.19, or 7.03%, to $95.08. A source from mediator Pakistan said the United States and Iran were closing in on an agreement on a one-page memorandum of understanding. Iran said on Wednesday it was reviewing a new U.S. proposal. An Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson, cited by Iran's ISNA news agency, said Iran would convey its response soon via Pakistan. Iran had said earlier that it would only accept a fair and comprehensive agreement. U.S. media outlet Axios reported that the U.S. expects Iranian responses on several key points in the next 48 hours, citing sources saying this was the closest the ‌parties had come to an agreement since the ⁠war began. "There's a growing sense that the chance of the Strait of Hormuz reopening is greater, regardless of whether we get a lasting peace deal with Iran or not," said Phil Flynn, senior analyst with Price Futures ⁠Group. Both crude contracts hit their lowest in two weeks, with Brent hitting an intra-session low of $96.75 before paring losses after U.S. President Donald Trump said it was "too soon" to consider face-to-face talks with Tehran, and as a senior Iranian parliament member said the U.S. proposal was more of a wish list than a reality. The U.S. military said on Monday that it destroyed several Iranian small boats as part of efforts to help stranded ships exit the ‌Strait of Hormuz. “A deal announcement would move futures further immediately, in fact even the potential of a deal is already triggering a decline in oil prices," said Rystad Energy chief oil analyst Paola Rodriguez-Masiu. However, the global oil flow would take time to normalize even if the strait is restored. "The six-to-eight-week lag between credible access conditions and real flow normalization is not a conservative estimate, it is a structural feature of how shipping markets work," Rodriguez-Masiu added. Crude oil supply losses from halted marine traffic through the strait since the war began in February have driven up ‌prices, with Brent trading last week at its highest since March 2022. The Strait of Hormuz closure has resulted in a drawdown in global oil and fuel inventories as refineries try to offset production shortfalls. "A partial deal may be enough for Strait of Hormuz shipping to gradually normalize," said Raymond James analyst Pavel Molchanov, adding that if ‌the decline holds, prices at the pump could cool over the next one to two weeks for U.S. consumers. U.S. crude and fuel inventories continued to draw down last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday, as countries around the globe scrambled to fill supply gaps caused by disruptions from the conflict in the Middle East. Crude oil stocks fell by 2.3 million barrels to 457.2 million barrels ‌last week, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 3.3 million-barrel draw.

US-Iran war: Oil prices plunge, markets surge, fuelled by hopes of reopening Strait of Hormuz -Oil prices tumbled on Thursday morning amid hope that the US and Iran are near a peace deal to end a war that has stoked the biggest energy supply shock in history. Brent Crude futures sank 6.2 per cent to $US103.09 a barrel, and US WTI oil fell 5.8 per cent to $US96.77 a barrel. While Australian share futures pointed to a 0.8 per cent gain at the opening bell on Thursday. The Australian dollar also rose to a four-year high after the Reserve Bank lifted benchmark interest rates 25 basis points to 4.35 per cent on Tuesday. On Thursday morning, the dollar bought $US72.4 cents, after hitting a high of $US72.8 cents on Wednesday evening. Iran said on Wednesday evening it’s reviewing Washington’s mooted 14-point peace proposal to potentially sign a one-page memorandum of understanding that may see the Strait of Hormuz reopened to shipping. US President Donald Trump hinted in a Truth Social that an initial deal may be close in a Wednesday night (AEST). “Assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is, perhaps, a big assumption, the already legendary Epic Fury will be at an end, and the highly effective blockade will allow the Hormuz Strait to be open to all,” Mr Trump wrote. Wall Street investors cheered the news, as the S&P 500 rose 1.2 per cent to a record 7342 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Index climbed 1.3 per cent to a record 25,650 points. Gold advanced 3.2 per cent to $US4,705 an ounce and silver jumped 5.6 per cent to $US76.70 an ounce. Iron ore prices rose to $US108.58 at their highest level since January, 2026. Risk bellwether Bitcoin topped $US81,300 for the first time since the conflict began on Thursday morning. “What continues to stand out is how well Bitcoin has been riding the coattails of risk assets. Its 11.87 per cent gain in April mirrored the S&P 500’s 10.42 per cent advance,” .

Oil Prices Extend Decline on Iran Peace Deal Optimism (DTN) -- Crude oil futures slipped Thursday morning, extending Wednesday's sell-off triggered by signs the U.S. and Iran are closing in on a peace deal which would reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Near 8:00 a.m. EDT, ICE Brent for July delivery fell $3.17 to $98.10 bbl, and NYMEX WTI for June delivery slid $3.25 to $91.83 bbl. Downstream, NYMEX ULSD futures for June delivery declined by $0.1228 to $3.6628 gallon, and front-month NYMEX RBOB futures retreated $0.0748 to $3.3845 gallon. The U.S. Dollar Index softened by 0.105 points to 97.77 against a basket of foreign currencies. Front-month Brent futures fell 8% Wednesday, slumping by more than 10% intra-day, after reports indicated that the U.S. and Iran were on the verge of agreeing on a framework to permanently end hostilities and for both sides to lift their blockades of the Strait of Hormuz. Flows through the chokepoint, normally a fifth of global oil supply, have been at a trickle since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and at a virtual standstill since the U.S. embargo on Iranian maritime trade. Prospects of an easing of the largest oil supply disruption in history were also heightened by U.S. President Donald Trump conveying optimism about an imminent deal and declaring victory in remarks made late Wednesday, echoing statements from the heads of both the State Department and Department of Defense earlier this week. The timing of the announcement and a lack of acknowledgment from Tehran, however, has tempered market optimism. Trump is set to meet Chinese President Xi Jinpin for a two-day summit in Beijing next week. China, the main consumer of Iranian oil, has been vocal in urging restraint from the warring parties and in calling for a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Beijing enacted a fuel export ban to ensure meeting domestic demand after refiners had to cut back operations amid a lack of crude deliveries from the Middle East. Not only are the country's refiners highly dependent on crude oil from the Persian Gulf, they also, just months after Venezuela, lost another vital oil supply source in Iran. U.S. inventories were also not shielded from the Hormuz supply disruption. The Energy Information Administration on Wednesday reported refined fuel exports soaring to a record high last week. Crude and product exports from the U.S. have surged over the past six weeks, putting additional strain on inventories. Distillate fuel stocks last week plummeted to a 20-year seasonal low, EIA data showed.

Oil prices edge lower as U.S. waits for Iran response to deal proposal -- Oil prices edged lower on Thursday, as the U.S. waits for Iran’s response to a proposal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. International benchmark Brent crude futures fell about 1% to close at $100.06 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures ticked 0.28% lower to settle at $94.81 per barrel. Oil was down about 5% earlier in the session on hopes that the U.S. and Iran would strike a deal. Prices turned higher after a senior Iranian official appeared to rebuff the U.S. proposal. Mohsen Rezaei, a member of Iran’s Expediency Council, said the U.S. must pay reparations for damage done to Iran, according to the state news agency PressTV. Tehran will not allow the U.S. to propose an unrealistic plan to reopen Hormuz, Rezaei said, according to Press TV. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei told news outlets Wednesday that Tehran is still reviewing the U.S. proposal and would present its response to mediators in Pakistan. Baqaei said in a social media post that negotiations require “a genuine attempt to engage in discussions with a view to resolving the dispute.” Negotiations are not dictation, deception, extortion or coercion, he said. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the U.S. military offensive, known as Operation Epic Fury, “will be at an end” if Iran “agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is, perhaps, a big assumption.” If that happened, the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports in the Gulf of Oman would “allow the Hormuz Strait to be OPEN TO ALL, including Iran,” Trump wrote in a social media post. However, the president said Iran will be bombed “at a much higher level” if it doesn’t agree to a peace deal, underscoring that Iran-U.S. negotiations to end the war remain fragile. U.S. officials told Axios on Wednesday that the U.S. and Iran were close to a one-page, 14-point memorandum of understanding that would end the war and establish a framework for further negotiations. The deal would lift restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Axios report. Iran would commit to a moratorium on nuclear enrichment and the U.S. would lift sanctions and release frozen funds. Scott Chronert, Citi U.S. equity strategist, said that the duration of the conflict will affect the wider economy. “The duration of the conflict and the implication that has for higher oil prices for longer is a big deal as it pertains to future growth expectations for many parts of the market, as well as how it influences the Fed thinking in terms of the interest rate dynamic,” Chronert said on CNBC’s Squawk Box.

Oil Ends Lower Despite Iran Rejecting U.S. Proposal - The crude oil market posted an inside trading day on Thursday and ended the session in negative territory even after the market reversed course on a Wall Street Journal report stating that Iran rejected the U.S. proposal and that Saudi Arabia and Kuwait lifted its restriction on U.S. military access to bases and airspace. In overnight trading, the market traded lower on renewed hopes for a U.S.-Iran peace deal that could bring a gradual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. and Iran were moving towards a limited, temporary agreement to halt their war. The oil market traded back below the $90.00 level and posted a low of $89.85 early in the morning. The market later settled in a sideways trading range as traders awaited for developments on whether Iran would agree to the U.S. proposal. There was a report from Saudi Arabia’s Al Arabiya news channel that said understandings had been reached to ease the U.S. blockade in exchange for a gradual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and another by Israel’s Channel 12 that said Iran had agreed to transfer its stockpile of 60% enriched uranium to a third country. However, the market later bounced off its low and retraced its losses on a Wall Street Journal report of Iran rejecting the U.S. deal as unrealistic. The crude market rallied to a high of $97.46 in afternoon trading. The June WTI contract settled down 27 cents at $94.81 and the July Brent contract settled down $1.21 at $100.06. The product markets ended in mixed territory, with the heating oil market settling up 3.1 cents at $3.8166 and the RB market settling down 33 points at $3.4560. Bloomberg reported that there is uncertainty whether there will be enough jet fuel in Europe ahead of the summer travel season. Among the uncertainties are how quickly and fully the Strait of Hormuz will reopen, and, in the meantime, to what extent Europe can secure replacement supplies. According to Energy Aspects, if the waterway remains largely shut, the region’s stockpiles of jet fuel and kerosene stand to deplete at a rate of 230,000 bpd this quarter, which is about double Italy’s entire demand. According to traders, market experts and Reuters analysis of exchange data, a series of well-timed market bets on falling oil prices totaling as much as $7 billion during March and April spread across multiple exchanges and types of fuel and derivatives just before major Iranian policy announcements by U.S. President Donald Trump. The size exceeds previously reported bets amounting to $2.6 billion, which have already prompted the U.S. administration to warn staff against using nonpublic information for financial benefit. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is investigating, although the CFTC has yet to officially confirm a probe is underway. U.S. Energy Secretary, Chris Wright, said that Iran appears to have cut back oil production by 400,000 bpd and is likely to reduce it more as its storage units fill. A U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports has cut Tehran’s oil exports, stranding a growing stockpile of crude on tankers as Iranian storage ‌sites run out of space. Analytics firm Vortexa said just a handful of carriers carrying Iranian crude have left the Gulf of Oman between April 13th and 25th. That’s down over 80% from a comparable period in March, when Iran exported 23.4 million barrels.

Oil prices gain on renewed US-Iran hostilities— Oil prices rose on Friday (May 8) after renewed fighting broke out between the US and Iran, threatening a shaky ceasefire and dashing hopes for progress to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit route for oil and liquefied natural gas. Brent crude futures were up 67 cents (S$0.85), or 0.67 per cent, at US$100.73 a barrel by 6.50am GMT (2.50pm SGT). West Texas Intermediate (WTI) US crude futures rose by 45 cents, or 0.47 per cent, to US$95.26 a barrel.  The benchmarks were up more than three per cent at the market open. The gains snapped three days of decline on reports this week that the US and Iran were close to agreeing to a peace deal that would end the fighting but put off larger issues around Iran's nuclear programme. For the week, both contracts are still set to fall about six per cent. "The market is on the cusp of a complete breakdown," said Vandana Hari, founder of oil market analysis provider Vanda Insights. "Price formation is no longer anchored in a pragmatic reading of the war's trajectory or the physical realities in the Strait of Hormuz." Friday's jump in prices followed Iran's accusations that the US violated their month-long ceasefire, while the US said its strikes were retaliatory after Iran fired on US Navy vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday. Iran's military said the US had targeted an Iranian oil tanker and another ship, as well as civilian areas in the Strait and on the mainland. Despite the renewed combat, US President Donald Trump told reporters later on Thursday the ceasefire was still in effect. "The US administration continues to oversell the prospects of a thaw, and an optimism-biased market buys into it," Vanda Insights' Hari said. "Curiously, each time, the rebound is gradual and incomplete, making the head fakes at least somewhat effective." The exchange of fire happened as Washington awaited Iran's response to the latest peace proposal, which did not tackle contentious issues such as the US demand to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for a fifth of the world's oil and LNG supplies before the war began on Feb 28. "On the supply front, the picture remains tight," IG analyst Tony Sycamore said in a note. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is investigating oil price trades totalling US$7 billion ahead of key Iran war-related announcements by Trump, Reuters reported on Thursday. Most of the trades involved short positions, or bets on prices falling, placed on the Intercontinental Exchange and Chicago Mercantile Exchange before Trump statements announcing attack delays, the ceasefire or other changes to Iran policy that led to a decline in oil markets.

Oil Steadies as US Sees Ceasefire in Place After Clashes -- Crude oil futures steadied Friday morning after renewed fighting between U.S. and Iranian forces halted a three-day decline fueled by prospects of an imminent peace deal and a gradual easing of the supply disruption. Near 8:05 a.m. EDT, ICE Brent for July delivery was up $0.52 to trade near $100.58 bbl, and NYMEX WTI for June delivery rose $0.19 to $95.00 bbl. Downstream, NYMEX ULSD futures for June delivery advanced $0.0239 to $3.8405 gallon, and front-month NYMEX RBOB futures edged higher $0.0004 to $3.4564 gallon. The U.S. Dollar Index softened by 0.110 points to 97.835 against a basket of foreign currencies. Despite the current ceasefire, U.S. and Iranian forces exchanged fire in the Strait of Hormuz late Thursday. Both sides claimed to have responded in retaliation, while earlier reports suggested the U.S. military carried out attacks on Iranian ports. Abu Dhabi, meanwhile, said it intercepted a wave of Iranian drones and missiles. U.S. President Donald Trump said shortly after the clash that the ceasefire remained in place, calling the U.S. strikes a "love tap." Tehran, meanwhile, said it considered the U.S. "aggression" a breach of the ceasefire. Trump's comments helped cool the brief price rally sparked by the fresh outbreak of fighting, and oil and product futures were still on track for a steep weekly decline, the first in three weeks. Front-month Brent and WTI contracts were as of Friday morning eyeing a 7% week-on-week drop. The now 10-week-old conflict has led to the largest oil supply disruption in history, depriving the world of around a fifth of petroleum liquids and LNG flows, sparking an unprecedented rally in crude futures, which soared to their highest since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz also caused a rapid drawdown in global inventories, which have fallen from five-year highs at the beginning of the year to the lowest since 2018. The U.S. Energy Information Administration earlier this week reported that domestic distillate fuel oil stocks have slumped to a 20-year seasonal low.

Oil Jumps After Renewed US-Iran Fighting, Then Pares Gains - (Reuters) – Brent crude futures jumped as much as 3% on Friday, a day after the U.S. and Iran traded air strikes, but pared gains as traders hoped for a ‌longer pause in the fighting that has shut shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude futures settled at $101.29 a barrel, up $1.23 or 1.23%, after rising as much as 3% during the session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures finished at $95.42 a barrel, up 61 cents, or 0.64%. Both contracts were settled with weekly declines of more than 6%. “We’re treading water here, rightfully so,” . “We’re on the cusp of a breakthrough in negotiations or we’re on the cusp of a renewal ⁠of the fighting. We’ve been here a lot.” “There is a sense in the market that there is going to be an agreement and we’ll get the next phase which would be 30 days to hammer out an agreement (between Iran and the U.S.),”  Throughout the day, traders felt like they had been swatted back and forth like a tennis ball. “We’re still playing the headline-o-rama game,” said Phil Flynn, senior analyst with Price Futures Group. “Ship movement in the Persian Gulf is going about as well as can be expected. We’re kind of working around the edges.” U.S. and Iranian forces clashed in the Gulf, and the UAE came under renewed attack as Washington awaited a response from Tehran to its proposal to end the conflict, which began with joint U.S.-Israeli ‌airstrikes across ⁠Iran on February 28. U.S. President Donald Trump later on Thursday told reporters the ceasefire was still in effect and sought to play down the exchange. However, on Friday, Trump renewed an ultimatum demanding Iran give up its nuclear ambitions. “How quickly can supply be returned from Gulf states, what will the state of inventories be as we approach peak gasoline season, and what sanctions would look like post-settlement are all worthy of thought. But none ⁠can be addressed until there is a long-term solution to hostilities,” said PVM Oil Associates analyst John Evans. “The U.S. administration continues to oversell the prospects of a thaw, and an optimism-biased market buys into it,” said Vandana Hari, founder of oil market analysis firm Vanda Insights. “Curiously, each time, ⁠the rebound is gradual and incomplete, making the head fakes at least somewhat effective.”

Oil price bets ahead of Iran war news totalled $7bn, shows reporting - A series of well-timed market bets on falling oil prices totalling as much as $7 billion during March and April spread across multiple exchanges and types of fuel and derivatives just before major Iranian policy announcements by US President Donald Trump, according to traders, market experts and Reuters analysis of exchange data. The size exceeds previously reported bets amounting to $2.6 billion, which have already prompted the US administration to warn staff against using nonpublic information for financial benefit. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is investigating, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters in April, although the CFTC has yet to officially confirm a probe is underway. Reuters could not establish who placed the bets and whether they originated in the US or elsewhere. They included short positions, or bets that prices would fall, for derivatives including ICE, CME crude, diesel and gasoline futures. The bets took place on two major exchanges that host benchmark global oil and fuel futures trade: the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). Both exchanges declined to comment. The CME is investigating the trades, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. The well-timed trades have triggered calls from legal experts and lawmakers for regulators to investigate whether they were based on inside information or leaks. Traders first spotted unusual trades on March 23. The trades were executed minutes before Trump announced a delay to threatened attacks on Iranian power infrastructure, triggering an oil price fall. The same pattern repeated on April 7, before Trump announced a ceasefire with Iran that triggered a fall of as much as 15% in benchmark ICE Brent futures. It happened again on April 17, when Iranian officials and Trump spoke about reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and then again on April 21, when Trump extended the ceasefire. Reuters and other media reported those trades on the most actively traded front-month contracts for the two global crude benchmarks, Brent LCOc1 and West Texas Intermediate CLc1. The value of those bets on those four days in March and April stood at around $2.6 billion, according to Reuters initial calculations. The US Justice Department, CFTC and White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. However, a further analysis of trading data across exchanges and contracts showed traders executed similar bets at exactly the same dates and times for European diesel and US gasoline futures as well as longer-dated contracts for Brent and WTI, bringing the total to around $7 billion, based on Reuters calculations. A sell bet — or short selling — means the person executing the trade borrows the derivative from a counterparty, sells it and later buys it back more cheaply when the price falls, keeping the remaining cash as profit. On March 23 and on April 7, 17 and 21, oil prices plunged by over 10%. Reuters calculations show that a short seller with $7 billion could have made hundreds of millions of dollars in profits, depending on the timing of the bets. The trades look "well informed" as they preceded major announcements, said Adi Imsirovic, from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), and a veteran oil trader. US authorities, such as the CFTC, can access exchange data to trace who placed the trades and investigate if it decides to, he added. On Thursday, ABC reported the US Department of Justice was investigating $2.6 billion in oil trades related to the Iran war. The DOJ was not immediately available for comment. The CFTC's enforcement director said in March the agency was aware of speculation regarding insider trading in CFTC-regulated markets and was "watching". "Let's stay with the facts. The volumes were highly unusual. They were concentrated. They were ahead of key announcements," said Jorge Montepeque from Onyx Capital Group, who helped design the modern system of setting oil prices at pricing agency Platts in the 1990s. Brent crude and low-sulphur gasoil futures trade on the Intercontinental Exchange, while West Texas Intermediate crude and gasoline futures trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange, which is owned by CME Group. On March 23, Trump announced a delay to threatened attacks on Iranian power infrastructure at 1105 GMT. LSEG data shows that between 1049 and 1050 GMT that day, traders placed bets on 20,000 lots of Brent and WTI futures. The selling was spread across the first, second and third month contracts, worth some $1.35 billion, plus an additional $122 million in ICE gasoil — diesel — futures LGOc1, LGOc2, LGOc3, and $81 million in US gasoline futures RBc1, RBc2, RBc3, all worth a total $2.2 billion. "Those quantities are not going to escape scrutiny," said Robert Frenchman, a lawyer at Dynamis LLP in New York, who has previously worked on white-collar crime and insider trading cases. Trump's March 23 ceasefire announcement triggered a decline in crude futures of as much as 15%, one of the largest intraday drops on record. The announcement also sent gasoline and gasoil futures down around 12%. On April 7, sell orders on oil and gasoline prices worth $2.12 billion took place between 1944 and 1945 GMT, well after the market settled, a time when volumes are usually thin. Minutes later, Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran. On April 17, nearly $2 billion in Brent, WTI, gasoil and gasoline futures were sold at 1224-1225 GMT, minutes before Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Hormuz would reopen, followed by multiple social media posts by Trump and US officials. On April 21, some $830 million worth of Brent and WTI contracts were sold just 15 minutes before Trump extended the ceasefire.

Cargo ship attacked near Strait of Hormuz: What to know -A commercial cargo ship transiting near the Strait of Hormuz said it was attacked early Sunday, the Associated Press reported, citing the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) center, escalating tensions in one of the world’s most sensitive maritime chokepoints as U.S. and Iranian negotiators struggle to keep ceasefire talks alive amid the Iran war.The Strait of Hormuz is the narrow passage through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supply moves. Any attack on commercial shipping there threatens global energy markets, insurance rates, and the stability of maritime trade.There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which is the first reported in the region since April 22, when a cargo ship reported being fired upon, according to the UKMTO.The unidentified ship, which was heading north off the coast of Sirik, Iran, was attacked Sunday by “multiple small craft,” according to the UKMTO. All crew members were unharmed and the vessel remained operational.Iranian patrol boats are small and hard to detect and have attacked several ships in the region. Last month, President Donald Trump ordered the military to “shoot and kill” small Iranian boats that deploy mines in the strait. Iran denied the attack, the semiofficial Iranian outlets Fars and Tabnak reported, per the AP, and said a passing ship had been stopped for a documents check as part of monitoring.The threat level in the region remains critical as Iran has effectively restricted traffic through the strait by targeting or threatening vessels in recent weeks.Iranian officials have repeatedly asserted control over the strait and have insisted that vessels not linked to the U.S. or Israel may pass only if they pay a transit fee—a position that challenges long‑standing international norms guaranteeing freedom of navigation, the AP reported.The latest incident unfolded as Tehran said it was reviewing Washington’s latest response to its proposal for ending the war, while stressing the talks do not involve nuclear issues, but do include an end of the U.S. military’s blockade of Iranian ports. Trump said Saturday he was reviewing the proposal but expressed doubt it would lead to a deal, writing on Truth Social that Tehran has “not yet paid a big enough price.”Meanwhile, commercial operators have already rerouted dozens of tankers and container ships to avoid the strait, citing rising insurance premiums and the risk of miscalculation between U.S. and Iranian naval forces.Shipping analysts note even a single attack can have outsized consequences. Freight companies often respond by slowing transit, rerouting vessels, or pausing operations entirely—decisions that ripple through global supply chains. Energy traders were already bracing for volatility after repeated closures and restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz earlier in the war.

South Korean Cargo Ship Damaged as Hormuz Maritime Crisis Deepens - Palestine Chronicle -  A South Korean-flagged cargo vessel was reportedly damaged late Monday while anchored in the Strait of Hormuz, amid growing regional tensions and competing US-Iranian claims over maritime security. According to South Korean officials, the vessel HMM Namu sustained what was described as an “external impact” at approximately 8:40 p.m. local time while anchored outside the port limits of Umm Al Quwain. The ship carried 24 crew members, including six South Korean nationals and 18 foreign crew members. No casualties were reported. The South Korean Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said an explosion was observed on the port side of the vessel’s engine room after information was relayed from a nearby ship. Shipping company HMM confirmed that a fire broke out following the incident.  The incident came as the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations warned Monday that the maritime security threat level in the Strait of Hormuz “remains critical” due to ongoing military operations in the region. The advisory urged vessels transiting the area to carefully assess risks before passage. Earlier, US President Donald Trump announced a naval initiative called “Project Freedom,” aimed at escorting foreign commercial vessels stranded in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump framed the operation as a humanitarian effort to assist neutral vessels affected by the ongoing regional crisis.  Iranian officials strongly rejected the American initiative, insisting that Iran alone is responsible for securing the strategic waterway. Ali Abdollahi warned that any foreign military force attempting to enter or approach the Strait without coordination would face attack. He stated that “the US military and any foreign armed forces will be attacked” if they attempt to approach the Strait, while also warning regional US allies against involvement in any escalation. Iranian officials further stressed that all maritime traffic must coordinate with Iranian authorities before crossing the waterway.  Meanwhile, Fars News Agency reported that an American frigate was struck by two Iranian missiles after allegedly ignoring repeated warnings near the port of Jask. According to the report, the vessel was attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz in violation of Iranian maritime regulations and was forced to halt and retreat after sustaining damage. No independent confirmation of the alleged strike or potential casualties has yet emerged.

Iran Says US Bombed Cargo Vessels, Not IRGC Boats, and Killed Five Civilians -    Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported that a US attack in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday hit cargo vessels, not boats belonging to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), contradicting claims from US Central Command.CENTCOM said that its forces destroyed six Iranian naval boats that attempted to interfere with commercial shipping, and President Trump later put the number of boats that were sunk at seven.An Iranian military source told Tasnim that after an investigation, Iran found that no IRGC “combat vessels were hit” and that the US targeted two boats that were traveling from Khasab, a port city in Oman, to the coast of Iran, and said the attack killed five civilians.“The investigation revealed that US forces had attacked and fired on two small cargo boats transporting goods belonging to civilians. The boats were traveling from Khasab, along the coast of Oman, towards Iranian shores. The attack resulted in the deaths of five civilian passengers,” the source said.So far, the US hasn’t responded to the Iranian allegations, and during a press briefing on Tuesday morning, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth stuck to CENTCOM’s account, describing the vessels the US military targeted as “six attack boats” that he said were “dealt with before they were any real threat to the American military vessels they were approaching.”The incident on Monday came after President Trump announced that the US would “guide” commercial ships out of the Strait of Hormuz, a military escalation he dubbed “Project Freedom.”

Iranian Media: Attack on UAE Oil Facility Result of US 'Adventurism' in the Strait of Hormuz - Iranian media reported on Monday that the attack on oil facilities in the UAE’s port of Fujairah was the result of US “adventurism” in the Strait of Hormuz.“Iran had no pre-planned intention to attack the Fujairah oil facilities,” an Iranian military official told the Iranian broadcaster IRIB. “The incident resulted from US military adventurism to create an illegal passage through restricted areas of the Strait of Hormuz. US must be held accountable,” the official added. The comments suggest that the strikes on the Fujairah oil facilities were Iran’s response to the US’s new attempt to get commercial ships out of the Strait of Hormuz, though so far there’s been no official comment from Tehran about the attacks on the UAE. The UAE said that its air defenses “engaged” 19 Iranian missiles and drones on Monday, and, according to sources speaking with CNN, an Israeli Iron Dome system that was secretly deployed to the Gulf Arab state was used to intercept projectiles. At least three people, Indian nationals, were injured by the attacks on the Fujairah oil facilities.President Trump announced on Sunday night that US forces would “guide” commercial ships out of the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz. US Central Command claimed that two US Navy destroyers transited the strait and enabled two US-flagged commercial ships to also make the passage. the Iranian Navy said that it fired missiles and drones at US warships, and CENTCOM also claimed that its forces destroyed six Iranian boats, which was denied by Iranian officials.The attacks on the UAE would mark Tehran’s most significant response yet to US military escalations since the ceasefire ended the US-Israeli bombing campaign against Iran.“Iranian analyst tells me that Tehran’s warning shots at US warships and the strikes on the UAE reveal Iran’s new posture: If Trump plans to restart the war, Iran will not wait for Trump to do so before it retaliates. It will strike preemptively in a measured way to deter Trump,” Trita Parsi, an Iran expert and executive vice president of the Quincy Institute, wrote on X..

Iran's Foreign Minister Says No Military Solution To Hormuz, Warns US and UAE Against a 'Quagmire' - Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said that the flare-ups in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday show there’s no “military solution” to the crisis and warned the US and the UAE against being drawn into a “quagmire” in the region.“Events in Hormuz make clear that there’s no military solution to a political crisis,” Araghchi wrote on X. “As talks are making progress with Pakistan’s gracious effort, the US should be wary of being dragged back into quagmire by ill-wishers. So should the UAE. Project Freedom is Project Deadlock,” the Iranian diplomat added.The incidents on Monday, which involved the US and Iran trading fire and Iranian drones and missiles targeting the UAE, came after Iran submitted a new proposal to the US through Pakistan to bring a permanent end to the conflict.Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday that Tehran was reviewing the US response to the proposal, but then Trump announced a new US military operation to “guide” commercial ships out of the Strait of Hormuz. Axios reported that Trump went ahead with the escalation because he was fed up with the stalemate with Iran. One source close to the president told Axios reporter Barak Ravid that the US military operation was the “beginning of a process that could lead to a confrontation with the Iranians.”The source suggested the purpose of it could be to create a situation to frame Iran as the aggressor, saying that the “humanitarian” mission means “if the Iranians do something, they will be the bad guys and we will have the legitimacy to act.”

Iran Denies Attacking UAE, Warns against Zionist Military Presence - Palestine Chronicle -- Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesman for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, denied Tuesday that Iran had carried out any missile or drone operations against the United Arab Emirates in recent days. Zolfaghari said that if such operations had taken place, Iran would have announced them “firmly and frankly,” describing statements issued by the UAE Ministry of Defense as “completely false and entirely baseless.” The denial came after Emirati authorities claimed Monday that UAE air defenses intercepted incoming Iranian missiles and drones.  The Iranian military spokesman warned Emirati officials against allowing their country to become “a den for the Americans and Zionists and their forces and military equipment.” He accused the UAE of facilitating the presence of US and Israeli military assets in the Gulf region and said Abu Dhabi was participating in “treacherous media attacks” and spreading false accusations against Iran. Zolfaghari stated that Iran had thus far exercised restraint “for the sake of security and out of consideration” for Muslims living in the UAE. He warned, however, that if any operation were launched from Emirati territory against Iranian islands, ports, or coastal areas, Tehran would respond with what he described as a “crushing and regrettable response.”  Meanwhile, the naval command of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps renewed warnings to all vessels intending to cross the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian naval authorities said ships must use only the officially designated maritime corridor previously announced by Tehran, warning that any deviation would be considered unsafe and could prompt military action. According to Iranian state media, Tehran has officially launched a new mechanism to regulate maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Under the system, ships intending to transit the Strait will receive regulations and instructions through the official address “info@PGSA.ir” and must obtain transit authorization before passage. Iranian officials described the framework as part of a broader effort to establish what they called a “new equation” governing security and navigation in Hormuz.  Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said developments in the Strait demonstrate that “there is no military solution to the crisis,” describing US President Donald Trump’s maritime initiative “Project Freedom” as a “project of stagnation.” Meanwhile, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, said the “new equation” in the Strait of Hormuz “is being established,” adding that Washington “cannot tolerate the current situation, while Iran has not yet begun.” According to Bloomberg, hundreds of ships were seen gathering near Dubai as maritime traffic adjusted to the new Iranian navigation measures.

'We Need People To Come Back': Dubai's Tourism Industry Reels As Foreigners Flee Dubai is facing an existential crisis with the US and Israeli war on Iran forcing tourism numbers to fall sharply, with widespread hotel closures and job losses decimating the global tourism hotspots' hospitality sector. On Monday, Dubai Airports reported that first-quarter passenger traffic was down by at least 2.5 million from the same period in 2025, with March seeing a 66 percent drop in passenger numbers as travelers chose to steer clear of the Gulf.  The company did not specify forecasts for this year but on Saturday, in a bid to kickstart tourism, the UAE announced that all air travel restrictions that were put in place after Iran launched retaliatory strikes on all six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries that house or cooperate closely with US forces had been lifted.  In a post on their official X account, the Civil Aviation Authority wrote: "Our decision came following a comprehensive assessment of operational and security conditions, in coordination with the relevant authorities". The statement was clearly meant to relay confidence to international travelers, especially after several European airlines announced that they would be suspending flights to the Middle East.  Workers and business owners in Dubai, who spoke to the Middle East Eye on condition of anonymity due GCC-wide restrictions on public statements about the effects of Tehran’s attacks, say it will still take some time to see if the announcement will restore confidence among travelers and investors. Charity, a Kenyan hotel worker said the mid-priced hotel she works at was definitely affected by the 1.4 million people who travelled through the UAE over the first two weeks of March. During the Muslim month of Ramadan, when Iranian missile and drone attacks were at their worst, the hotel, part of a US-based chain, was full of stranded passengers who would meet with Emirates Airlines representatives in the lobby.  During the month, the hotel's pool was closed to guests and by the final days, guests staying in the higher floors of the 20-floor building were moved to the lower floors as a precautionary measure. After that, though, she said "things really slowed down for a few weeks". She said she hoped the announcement would provide some assurance to travelers. "We'll see over the next week if people really start to come back," she said while helping a long-time American traveler. "We need your people [foreign tourists] to come back," she added. So far, even longtime passengers say there has been a noticeable shift in the mood at Dubai International, which has been the world’s busiest airport for international passenger traffic for 12 consecutive years. Samina, a South Asian NGO worker who travels between South Asia, the Gulf and North America, said the change was particularly noticeable in her most recent trips over the two months. "Coming in, it's empty," she said of Terminal 3, home of Emirates Airlines. "Terminal 1 and 2 are ghost towns," she said of the buildings that are home to other international carriers and FlyDubai, the UAE's budget airline. She said international airlines suspending flights to the region have definitely taken a toll on traffic, "Every time you get in, it's all the same transit passengers." According to Dubai Airports, only 51 out of 90 airlines have resumed their operations at the airport, with European and US airlines facing difficulties securing insurance cover due to government travel advisories  For its part, Dubai is working hard to support and reassure its residents. Travelling around the city, there is an abundance of UAE flags outside homes and businesses and on digital signs and billboards along the highways. At the City Walk shopping center there are massive electronic signs thanking UAE residents in Arabic and English. Pictures of UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan are emblazoned along major roads with the statement: May our nation remain in God’s protection". Other signs show Emirati families saluting the flag with the same words. However, longtime residents and business owners say the impact of the intercepted missiles and drones was felt almost immediate. Tatiana, a Russian national who runs a logistics company for businesses looking to setup shop in the Gulf, and she said even she was shocked at how quickly the mood shifted for existing and prospective businesses. "Within the first two weeks people [said] it's no longer worth [living here]. They weren't scared per se, they just felt like it's no longer worth it".  "Businesses were suddenly liquidating their assets." She said her family was now looking at options in Europe to gradually shift to. Antoine, an editor who helps train amateur writers said one of his clients who works at an advertising agency was left with the burden of those liquidations. "She was in charge of finding 1,000 workers in the UAE to let go of," he said. Antoine was particularly struck by the fact that even an advertising firm would be so immediately impacted. "You'd think advertising would be a war-proof industry," he said. Tatiana said her work has been particularly affected by the attacks.  "Our whole business is predicated on assuring people that the UAE is a safe, convenient place to do business," she said. Her statement is almost identical to what Arjun, one of the 3.5 to 4.3 million Indian residents of the UAE, said outside a late evening screening of the Michael Jackson biopic. Arjun said he was happy to see the screening at near capacity, hoping it was a sign of a gradual return to normal. "The entire ethos of Dubai as this place free from conflict was shaken," he said.

Iran academic Mahdieh Esfandyari: Enemy confronts Iranian civilization, not just Islamic Republic– Mahdieh Esfandyari, a graduate of Al-Zahra University who was detained in France for approximately 14 months, has stated that the enemy's issue is not merely confrontation with the Islamic Republic, but rather a confrontation with Iranian civilization itself. Speaking on the sidelines of a ceremony held in her honor at Al-Zahra University on Sunday, Esfandyari told IRNA: "As you know, we are in a situation where a serious confrontation exists. It has become clear that the issue is not just confrontation with the Islamic Republic, but also confrontation with Iranian civilization – a civilization in which science and the university are among its main pillars." Esfandyari, who was arrested by French security authorities for posting content opposing the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, spent several months in prison. She was released based on an understanding between Tehran and Paris, under which France committed to her full release in exchange for the release of two French citizens. Regarding attacks on academic institutions, she said: "Targeting scientific and university centers, and the martyrdom of students, shows that the enemy fears a conscious, educated, and knowledgeable Iranian — because these very people, through growth and development, bring pride to the country." Reflecting on her personal experience abroad, Esfandyari cautioned against Western claims about women's freedom: "Freedom has various dimensions, and one of the most important is independence in choice and the ability to defend individual rights. As an Iranian woman who chooses to wear the hijab, I faced restrictions outside the country that contradict these claims." She added, "If freedom means the right to choose one's clothing, then this right must be respected for everyone. Iranian girls should not think these approaches are meant to secure their rights. In some cases, this issue is used as a tool to weaken Iranian identity and civilization."

Exclusive: Iran launches new maritime mechanism for vessels transiting Strait of Hormuz - Iran has officially launched a new mechanism for governing maritime traffic through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, Press TV has learned. Under the newly implemented system, all vessels intending to transit the Strait will receive an email from the official address info@PGSA.ir outlining the rules and regulations for passage. Ships are required to adjust their operations according to this framework and obtain a transit permit before crossing the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical oil shipping chokepoints. The initiative, described as a sovereign governance system, is now operational in the Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately 20% of all internationally traded oil passes. Iranian armed forces have placed the Strait of Hormuz under strict control, blocking all ships associated with the US and Israel following the launch of their war of aggression against the Islamic Republic on February 28. Tehran had signaled a willingness to reopen the Strait after the US and Israel agreed to include Lebanon in a Pakistan-brokered ceasefire agreement that helped halt the aggression against Iran. However, Iranian authorities declared the waterway closed again as Washington and Tel Aviv continued violating the terms of the ceasefire. A draft law now advancing in Iran's Parliament would impose a total ban on any ships associated with Israel, while vessels linked to the US and other hostile countries would face severe restrictions. The legislation also establishes a tolling system for the passage of non-hostile vessels. Tensions have escalated sharply in recent days after the United States launched an operation on Sunday aimed at breaking Iran’s control over the Strait. Iranian forces have repeatedly warned US warships against approaching the strategic waterway.

IRGC warns ships must exclusively use designated routes in Hormuz Strait - The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has warned ships seeking to pass the Strait of Hormuz to exclusively use routes designated by Iran as safe. The IRGC said in a Tuesday statement that it would deal decisively with ships avoiding the Iranian-designated corridors and sailing through other parts of the Strait of Hormuz. “Any deviation by vessels to other routes will be unsafe and will be met with a decisive response from the IRGC Navy,” said the statement. “…the only safe route for passing through the Strait of Hormuz is the corridor previously announced by Iran.” The warning came a day after Iranian and US naval forces exchanged fire near the Strait of Hormuz, after US President Donald Trump announced he had ordered an operation to break restrictions imposed by Iran on cargo transit via the Strait of Hormuz. Several ships and other port facilities were hit during the exchange of fire, while both sides claimed they had successfully defended their military positions in the Persian Gulf. However, experts have warned that US interference with the status quo in the Strait, which has been in place since the early days of the US-Israeli aggression against Iran in early March, would seriously escalate the situation, prompting a resumption of military confrontation that was halted as part of a ceasefire reached in early April. The IRGC on Tuesday refuted US claims that two ships bearing American flags had passed the Strait of Hormuz on the first day of Washington’s renewed effort to open the waterway, which is responsible for a fifth of global oil demand. Iran has allowed a limited number of ships to pass the Strait over the past weeks, and the transit has happened through two entry and exit lanes designated by Iran as safe. The corridors are located in the northernmost part of the Strait near the island of Larak, with authorities warning that other parts of the Strait may be laden with mines.

China Wants Iran War End, Pushes 'Immediate' Hormuz Reopening During Araghchi Visit Ahead Of Trump-Xi Summit    Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi is currently in Beijing meeting with his Chinese counterpart, FM Wang Yi, and the timing of the visit sends a resounding message to Washington and the West. The highly anticipated Trump-Xi meeting is still scheduled for next week, expected for May 14-15, though there has been ample speculation the ongoing events of the unpredictable Iran war and Hormuz Strait crisis could derail the trip at the last minute.Of course, Iran and the question of peace will be high on the agenda as Trump visits - and currently it seems the White House is desperate to set in place some kind of final offramp, given the Tuesday night 'pause' in Project Freedom operations in the Gulf.Upon the occasion of Araghchi's visit, Foreign Minister Wang has taken the opportunity to again call for the immediate opening of the strait. And the Iranian top diplomat seconded this at a moment the US Navy has imposed an effective blockade of Iranian ports, which of course severely impacts Iranian oil going to China. "Currently, it is possible to resolve the issue of reopening the Strait of Hormuz as soon as possible," Xinhua quoted Araghchi as saying. Wang during the meeting also called for a "comprehensive ceasefire," saying his country is deeply distressed by the war. Xinhua further quoted him as saying:"The international community shares a common concern for restoring normal and safe passage through the Strait, and China hopes the relevant parties will respond as quickly as possible to the strong calls from the international community." The two sides are clearly coordinating their messaging to some degree, given Wang also expressed that China "appreciates Iran’s pledge to not develop nuclear weapons."Tehran has for years insisted its program is only for peaceful nuclear energy development and for domestic needs, but has amid Trump's Operation Epic Fury made clear it will never given up its right to enriched uranium. It has said this is as "sacred as the soil" and sees it as a matter of national sovereignty. This in the face of US demands that it transfer all nuclear material out of the country. More out of Beijing on Wednesday: “We believe that a comprehensive ceasefire brooks no delay, a resumption of hostilities is inadvisable, and persisting with negotiations is particularly important,” Wang told Araghchi at the start of their meeting, according to footage released by Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV....Earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged China to press Iran to ease its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas passes. As for what China gains in this high-level diplomacy and engagement with Tehran at a moment it could face more US and Israeli bombs, Associated Press presents the following: Some noted that the Iranian foreign minister visited at Beijing’s initiative. "It’s China exercising their leverage... to summon the Iranian foreign minister," said Hoo Tiang Boon, a professor of Chinese foreign policy at Nanyang Technological University. "By holding the talks with the Iranians, you can't fault for them not putting in any effort," Hoo said.

World Starts To "Build" Around Hormuz; Japan Buying UAE Oil Bypassing Strait As ADNOC To Spend $55 Billion On Pipelines -  Long after the Iran war is just a bookmark in the history books, one distinct consequence will persist: much of the world, at least the part that does not fall under the Chinese sphere of influence, will do everything it can to avoid the Strait of Hormuz and failing that, have a Plan B. Just like when the Biden admin weaponized the US Dollar in 2022 by booting Russia from SWIFT after the Ukraine war, and in the process started the biggest gold and bitcoin rally in history as the rest of the world parked its savings in non-USD assets, so the world's most important oil choke point will never again be viewed again in the same way after Iran launched dozens of rockets at the ships transiting it. This shift in perception is what James Thorne, chief market strategist of WellingtonAltus, called "Iran’s Historic Mistake"; he explains it as follows: By weaponizing the Strait of Hormuz, Iran committed a strategic blunder of historic proportions. Tehran meant to punish America. Instead, it exposed every power built on imported energy, vulnerable sea lanes, and the delusion that globalization repealed geography. China is exposed. Europe is exposed. Britain is exposed. Iran has created a world where hard resource power decides outcomes. And the punchline:Iran’s mistake is that once Hormuz becomes structurally unreliable, the world builds around it. That means bypass corridors, revived pipeline politics, and urgent planning for routes linking Aqaba to Mediterranean outlets near Gaza and the long-stalled Basra-to-Aqaba pipeline. The old energy order is cracking. The UAE’s OPEC exit signals cartel discipline giving way to national advantage under pressure. The full note can be found here, and we didn't have long to wait to see the world it predicted begin to emerge.  Earlier today, Nikkei Asia reported that Japan agreed to buy an additional 20 million barrels of crude oil from the United Arab Emirates as Tokyo continues pursuing alternative supply channels amid the effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Japan used 2.36 million barrels of crude oil per day in 2025, the economy ministry reports. Based on this average, the additional 20 million barrels from the UAE could cover eight to nine days' worth of demand, so much more is coming. The deal was finalized Tuesday after Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's minister of economy, trade and industry, met with the Emirati industry minister in Abu Dhabi. Akazawa told reporters after the meeting that he had requested increased oil supplies for Japan. Roughly 40% of Japan's crude oil imports comes from the UAE. The Middle Eastern country, which left the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries on Friday, intends to gradually increase oil production at its own discretion, which could lead to more cooperation with Japan. Japan will pick up the Emirati oil at the port of Fujairah on the UAE's eastern coast, which lies on the Gulf of Oman, allowing for crude exports without going through the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump eager for off-ramp in war on Iran, but Netanyahu has him trapped: Former official Donald Trump is eager to find an off-ramp, declare "victory," and end the war against Iran – but Benjamin Netanyahu is not, leaving Trump trapped, says a former chief of staff to the US Secretary of State. In an interview with the Press TV website, Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson – former chief of staff to Colin Powell from 2002 to 2005 – said that as tensions with Iran simmer following the recent US-Israeli war against the country, a complex picture is emerging of a Washington administration caught between tactical necessity and political traps. He said the central question surrounding the White House’s strategy is whether the Trump administration is using the lull in hostilities to rebuild its military capacity. “There is an ongoing effort to replace critical munitions, expedite repair of warships in maintenance, and alert and prepare more land forces for possible action,” he said, adding that this logistical surge extends to Tel Aviv, where efforts are underway to replenish munitions and call up more reservists. As for the Trump administration’s self-declared “maritime blockade” of Iranian ports, the timeline is elastic, Wilkerson said, adding that the US can sustain the pressure indefinitely, but only as long as necessary to secure an agreement with Tehran on what constitutes the end of war. “However, this is where the internal rift becomes critical. President Trump is eager to find an exit, to declare ‘victory’, and to end the conflict, but Netanyahu is not. So, Trump is trapped,” he said. The former official noted this dynamic suggests that the duration of the blockade depends heavily on the outcome of upcoming Israeli elections and who ultimately emerges as the winner there. For now, the US finds itself locked into a maritime strategy whose off-ramp is controlled by Israel with conflicting war aims, he told the Press TV website.

Israeli Troops Attack Catholic Convent in Southern Lebanon Town of Yaroun - The Israeli military attacked and seriously damaged a convent in the southern Lebanese town of Yaroun, leading to international condemnation from Christian groups. The convent belonged to the Greek Catholic order “Basilian Salvatorian Sisters,” and was known for supporting schools in the local community.The order said they had been told the building had been destroyed by military bulldozers, and said that the two sisters who would normally be living at the site had been evacuated in the course of the war and were not present at the time. French charity L’Œuvre d’Orient condemned the destruction as a “deliberate act,” and part of an Israeli war that is inflicting systematic damage with an eye toward preventing displaced civilians from returning home.The IDF denied the incident initially, insisting the convent was perfectly safe, but later admitted that they had damaged it as “Hezbollah infrastructure,” claiming that Hezbollah had fired rockets from inside the convent, but providing no evidence that was actually the case.The Catholic Church in Lebanon rejected the IDF’s claim. “We are against all practices against places of worship and churches. These are places to spread peace, love and education. These are not military bases,” said Rev. Abdo Abou Kassm, director of the Catholic Center for Information, according to the AP.The IDF further claimed they had no idea that it was a religious building when they started damaging it, because there were “no external signs indicating it was a religious building.” That even the IDF’s image of the building shows what appears to be a statue of the Virgin Mary, and other images show crosses on the top of the building, undercuts that claim.

IDF Promises Review as Soldier Photographed Disrespecting Statue of Virgin Mary -  The Lebanese Christian village of Debel became a major point of contention in the ongoing Israeli war last month, when images emerged of an IDF soldier smashing a statue of Jesus Christ with a sledgehammer. The IDF insisted it was “contrary” to their values and ultimately reported two people involved were jailed.It was not the last time the Christian village was a topic, as about a week later video of Israeli forces destroying the solar panels powering Debel’s water supply came out, and again an investigation was promised.Today, a new incident has emerged, with Israeli broadcaster KAN showing a photo of an IDF soldier disrespecting a statue of the Virgin Mary, once again believed to have been shot in Debel. The soldier was shown smoking a cigarette and holding a second cigarette in the mouth of the statue.The IDF said that the photo is being “looked into” but so far is declining further comment. Given how quickly the previous statue incident escalated into an international incident, however, they likely won’t be able to avoid comment forever.This is just the latest incident involving Debel, and indeed the latest of even more incidents involving Lebanon’s Christian community, as over the weekend Israeli forces had similarly been reported to have attacked and largely destroyed a Catholic convent in Yaroun.The IDF narrative has been that they are only targeting Hezbollah, and not the civilian nor religious sites across occupied southern Lebanon. This claim is being constantly undercut by reality on the ground, and while no physical damage appears to have been done with today’s statue incident, unlike the prior one, the fact that such things keep recurring suggests an ongoing problem with Israeli occupation forces.

Israel Confirms 500 Strikes Against Lebanon Since ‘Ceasefire’ Went Into Effect -    Overnight, the Lebanese town of Habboush was targeted in Israeli airstrikes, causing significant damage. In the morning, Israeli artillery was actively shelling the town, causing even more destruction in residential and commercial parts of town. Habboush is just one of several towns reporting roughly the same situation, active Israeli attacks, in spite of what is notionally an active ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. In practice, very little fire seems to actually be ceased. The Israeli Army has reported that it has hit an estimated 500 areas in Lebanon since April 17, when the ceasefire initially went into effect. Though the ceasefire has been extended before and on paper goes through much of May, the fighting and the firing seems to be a constant in southern Lebanon.The problems are myriad, but the most obvious are the widespread displacement of Lebanese civilians and the massive amount of destruction being caused to civilian property and religious sites. The Council of Melkite Greek Catholic Bishops in Lebanon yesterday issued a statement calling on the government and UN to do something about protecting such buildings.  Israel has repeatedly said they don’t target religious buildings, which sounds good in theory, but repeated IDF destruction of plainly religious sites is the daily reality on the ground. The bishops’ statement comes in the wake of a weekend incident in which Israeli forces attacked and badly damaged a convent in Yaroun. The IDF denied destroying the convent, showing an image that they said was the building still standing and largely unharmed. A Christian leader from Yaroun, however, said that the building shown was actually the archbishopric and clinic that were next door to the convent, which was effectively totally destroyed with bulldozers.The UNHCR representative in Lebanon, Karolina Billing, warned that Lebanon was facing a “deeply fragile moment” and that despite the ceasefire, and an additional 380 Lebanese have been killed in Israeli strikes.The number of displaced continues to rise. The International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) estimated 1.2 million Lebanese, about 20% of the population, have been displaced by the war, though the Lebanese government has suggested it could be as high as 1.6 million, amounting to over a quarter of Lebanon’s entire population.

Israeli Finance Minister Smotrich Says Son Asked Him to Leave Some of Lebanon for Him to Destroy -   In an interview with Israel’s Channel 7 TV, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich reported that his son has asked him not to finish destroying Lebanon before he has the opportunity to get involved and do some destroying of his own.The hawkish Smotrich said he told his son not to worry and that there would be plenty of destruction for everyone to get involved in.The younger Smotrich was initially intended to be deployed into Lebanon when the invasion began in March, but his unit was targeted along the border by anti-tank fire and he sustained what were at the time described as “light injuries” just days into the conflict.In the interview, Smotrich said his son is recovering quickly from those injuries, and is seemly eager to participate in some of the attacks in Lebanon. There is currently a state of ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, though Israeli forces continue to carry out daily attacks on southern Lebanon. Smotrich has repeatedly advocated annexing the whole of southern Lebanon, declaring that everything south of the Litani River should be part of Israel. In recent comments he has suggested that Israel’s assorted wars need to ultimately end with annexations of Gaza, the entire West Bank, and substantial parts of both Syria and Lebanon.He had brought attention to his son’s potential involvement in the war in the early stages of the conflict, touring the Israel-Lebanon border and meeting with troops, including his son, while promising to see destruction of Lebanon on a level of that seen in the Gaza Strip.

Israel Prepares for Resumption of Full-Scale Bombing Campaign in Gaza - The Israeli military is preparing for the resumption of its full-scale bombing campaign in Gaza, Middle East Eye reported on Monday, citing Israel’s Army Radio. The Israeli military has constantly violated the US-backed ceasefire deal that was signed in early October 2025, with daily attacks across Gaza, killing at least 832 Palestinians, according to the latest numbers from Gaza’s Health Ministry.The reporting from Israeli media suggests Israel is preparing a major escalation, back to the levels of the height of the genocidal war, when dozens or hundreds of Palestinians were being killed every day.According to the Army Radio report, senior Israeli military officials are pushing for the “resumption of fighting,” saying that the “best time to defeat Hamas is now.”The report cited Hamas’s refusal to disarm as the reason to restart the full-scale bombing campaign, as Hamas has insisted it will not discuss the issue until the first phase of the ceasefire is actually implemented. Middle East Eye reported a day earlier that the US and Israel had rejected a proposal from Hamas and other Palestinian factions to link disarmament to a path toward a Palestinian state and security guarantees.The Army Radio report acknowledged that Israel recently escalated its airstrikes in Gaza and pushed the “yellow line” further west, giving the IDF control of nearly 60% of Gaza, two clear violations of the ceasefire deal. At the start of the truce, Israeli troops occupied about 53% of Gaza.

Russia and Ukraine Declare Ceasefires That Will Begin on Different Days - Russia said on Monday that it would observe a ceasefire with Ukraine on May 8 and May 9 to observe Victory Day, when Russia celebrates the Soviet Union’s victory against Nazi Germany in World War II, but it’s unclear if the truce will hold, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded by declaring a ceasefire that will start earlier.“As of today, there has been no official appeal to Ukraine regarding the modality of a cessation of hostilities that is being claimed on Russian social media,” Zelensky wrote on X.  “We believe that human life is far more valuable than any anniversary ‘celebration.’ In this regard, we are announcing a ceasefire regime starting at 00:00 on the night of May 5–6. In the time left until that moment, it is realistic to ensure that silence takes effect. We will act reciprocally starting from that moment,” the Ukrainian leader added.Russia’s ceasefire declaration came with a warning that if Ukrainian attacks targeted Moscow during Victory Day celebrations, the Russian military would respond with major attacks on the Ukrainian capital, a response to Zelensky suggesting Ukraine could hit a Russian military parade that will take place in Moscow on May 9. “Should the Kiev regime attempt to implement its criminal plans to disrupt the celebration of the 81st anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, the Russian Armed Forces will launch a retaliatory, massive missile strike on the center of Kiev,” the Russian Defense Ministry said.“Russia, despite its capabilities, has previously refrained from such actions for humanitarian reasons. We warn the civilian population of Kyiv and employees of foreign diplomatic missions of the need to leave the city promptly,” the ministry added.On Monday, a Ukrainian drone hit a high-rise apartment building in Moscow. According to Russia’s TASS news agency, 26 Ukrainian drones targeted the Russian capital from May 2 to May 4. Heavy Russian attacks hit Ukraine on Monday, killing at least six people in Kharkiv and two in the Kherson region, according to Ukrainian officials.Ukraine has also stepped up its attacks on Russian oil infrastructure, hitting infrastructure on the Black Sea, causing massive fires and raining oil down from the sky.