Oil and gas

AMIRHOSSEIN KHORGOOEI / ISNA / AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

Hormuz tolls, frozen funds pose early tests for US-Iran peace progress

Early cracks are beginning to show following last week’s US-Iran deal announcement even as both sides move ahead with steps toward ending the four-month conflict.

Qatar's Energy Minister and CEO of QatarEnergy Saad Sherida al-Kaabi speaks during a press conference in Doha on June 22, 2026.

Explainer

Qatar blast underscores challenges in race to restart Gulf energy flows

The deadly explosion marks an early test of Gulf efforts to revive oil and gas production following a historic energy supply shock caused by the US-Israel-Iran war.

Handout Photo by the US Navy via Getty Images

Explainer

What’s the status of Strait of Hormuz after US-Iran talks?

Oil tankers continued to transit the strait in both directions, but many turned off their transponders over the weekend after Iran's military declared Hormuz closed once again.

MUSCAT, OMAN - JUNE 21: Oil tankers and cargo vessels remain anchored off Port Sultan Qaboos around Qaboos Port on June 21, 2026 in Muscat, Oman. The Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route for the region's oil and gas, was effectively blockaded since the outbreak of war between the United States and Iran in late February. This week's provisional peace deal between the countries was meant to reopen the waterway to shipping traffic, but the pace of that reopening is unclear amid continued fighting in Lebano

Oil falls more than 3% after Iran, US signal progress in talks

International benchmark Brent crude fell to $78.68 as of 7:06 a.m. EDT.

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Explainer

Oil’s slide wavers as Trump warns US-Iran deal ‘not final’

A general view shows the Awad oil field in the eastern Qamishli countryside in northeastern Syria, on Feb. 9, 2026.

3 Iranian tankers with 4.8M barrels of oil pass US blockade: What to know

Amirhossein KHORGOOEI / ISNA / AFP via Getty Images

Jared Szuba

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Exclusive

US firm HKN Energy takes over 7 oil fields from Syria's Kurds

A general view shows the Awad oil field in the eastern Qamishli countryside in northeastern Syria, on February 9, 2026. (Photo by Amjad Kurdo / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images)

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Explainer

US strategic oil stockpile nears four-decade low as Iran war drags on

Scott Olson/Getty Images

Two Iranian fuel tankers reach Venezuelan territory

The Associated Press reported that two Iran-flagged ships reached Venezuela and a third is on its way without US interference. Together they are carrying 815,000 barrels of fuel.

Iranian tanker reaches coast of Venezuela

Other Iranian ships are bringing fuel to and from the South American country, despite a US seizure of such vessels in August.

A picture taken on February 24, 2018 from Lebanon's southern border town of Naqura on the border with Israel, south of Beirut, shows the maritime boundaries between Lebanon and Israel.
The UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon has made efforts to prevent tension between Lebanon and Israel from escalating into a conflict, warning of continued escalation on the backdrop of oil exploration and construction of a barrier on the border. / AFP PHOTO / JOSEPH EID (Photo credit should read JOSEPH EID/AFP

US mediation pushes Israel, Lebanon on marking maritime border

Reports say that following US mediation, Israel and Lebanon are now ready to discuss the marking of their maritime borderline.

Egypt leads international coalition to confront Turkey in eastern Mediterranean

Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Cyprus, Greece and Italy signed the charter to transform the EastMed Gas Forum into a regional organization based in Cairo, in an attempt to form an international lobby capable of confronting Turkish ambitions in the eastern Mediterranean.

Saudi Arabia warns of ‘oil spot’ near aging tanker off Yemen's coast

UN officials have described the FSO Safer, an aging vessel that contains 1.14 million barrels of light crude oil, as a ticking time bomb.

Iran reportedly loading Venezuelan oil for sale abroad

Bloomberg reported that an Iranian ship reached the South American country last week. The United States is trying to stop fuel transfers between the two countries.

East-Med Gas Forum evolves as Israel, Egypt enhance cooperation

Israel’s Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz and six others sign the charter of the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum, which brings cooperation with other partners into a second, concrete phase.

Egyptian Minister of Petroleum Tarek el-Molla attends the East Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF), in Cairo, on January 16, 2020. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP) (Photo by KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Egypt announces record-high crude oil production for first time in decades

Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum has recently announced the achievement of a record number in producing crude oil, exceeding 65,000 barrels per day, for the first time since 1957.

OPEC+ pressures Iraq, UAE to further cut oil production

Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members held a virtual meeting with Russia and other allied oil producers today to discuss the continuing low price of oil amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

TOPSHOT - A worker of the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA waves an Iranian flag as the Iranian-flagged oil tanker Fortune docks at the El Palito refinery in Puerto Cabello, in the northern state of Carabobo, Venezuela, on May 25, 2020. - The first of five Iranian tankers carrying much-needed gasoline and oil derivatives docked in Venezuela on Monday, Caracas announced amid concern in Washington over the burgeoning relationship between countries it sees as international pariahs. (Photo by - / AFP) (Photo

Iranian fuel tankers reported off coast of South Africa

The tankers are reportedly bringing oil to Venezuela and may be taking the longer African route to avoid US forces following a seizure in August.

Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz (R), Greece's Energy Minister Kostis Hatzidakis (2nd-R), Egyptian Minister of Petroleum Tarek el-Molla (2nd-L) and Cypriot Energy Minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis (L) attend the East Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF), in Cairo, on January 16, 2020. - Israel began pumping natural gas to Egypt for the first time yesterday under a $15 billion, 15-year deal to liquefy it and re-export it to Europe. It is the first time that Egypt, which in 1979 became the first Arab country to si

Egypt, Cyprus focus on natural gas pipeline amid tensions in eastern Mediterranean

At a time when tensions are on the rise in the eastern Mediterranean, Egypt and Cyprus are intensifying talks to start building an offshore gas pipeline from the Aphrodite gas field to Cairo in preparation for re-export to Europe.

A picture taken on September 25, 2019 in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Cyprus approximately 20 nautical miles (37 kilometers) north-west of Paphos, shows a Turkish army frigate, the TCG Gelibolu, (R) and the drilling vessel Fatih (L), which was deployed by Turkey to search for gas and oil in waters considered part of the EU state's exclusive economic zone (EEZ). (Photo by - / AFP) (Photo credit should read -/AFP via Getty Images)

Russia enters EastMed fray, offers to mediate with Turkey

As Turkey bemoans its loneliness in a bitter row with Greece over energy exploration in the Mediterranean Sea, Moscow says it is ready to step in to mediate talks.