Oil and gas

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

Explainer

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

Brent crude prices briefly jumped back above $80 per barrel on Wednesday as traders digested conflicting signals about efforts to end the war and reopen Hormuz.

Amirhossein KHORGOOEI / ISNA / AFP via Getty Images

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

At least three US-sanctioned Iranian-flagged tankers have exited the Gulf of Oman as the Trump administration eyes Tehran's moves ahead of sanctions waivers expected to begin Friday.

Jared Szuba

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

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)

Exclusive

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

HKN Energy has begun operating seven oil fields under a 25-year agreement with Damascus, marking the first major production-sharing deal between Syria's new government and an international oil company.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Scott Olson/Getty Images

Explainer

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

The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell to 349.2 million barrels amid the global energy shock caused by the war in Iran.

Latest News

Syria says Iraqi oil shipments surge as Damascus courts foreign energy investment

A long convoys of Iraqi diesel-laden tanker trucks line up along the highway Tartus-Baniyas highway as they wait to unload their cargo at the Baniyas port refinery on the Mediterranean Sea, on April 15, 2026.

Explainer

Venezuela’s Delcy Rodriguez meets Erdogan in surprise Turkey visit: What to know

https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/06/will-pashinyans-victory-armenia-be-enough-unlock-peace-turkey-azerbaijan

Algeria begins work on Trans-Saharan gas pipeline to Europe

BOUREIMA HAMA/AFP via Getty Images

Oman denies disruption at key oil hub after reported drone attack

AFP via Getty Images

Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Australian LNG deal marks latest step in Turkey's energy diversification push

Although Turkey does not have abundant oil and gas resources, Ankara wants to position itself as a regional gas hub linking Europe and Asia.

A picture taken from a station of Dubai's Palm Monorail shows traffic on a road in Palm Jumeirah on Aug. 28, 2025.

Feature

Cheap oil, tighter finances, wars constrained Mid East economies in 2025

Low oil prices, tighter financial conditions and elevated geopolitical risk hampered growth across much of the Middle East and North Africa this year.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

View of Damietta Segas LNG Terminal, in Damietta, Egypt, which is an export terminal belong to Spanish Egyptian Gas Company.

Analysis

Egypt’s $35B Israel gas deal buys time, tests fragile energy partnership

The agreement is a critical stopgap as Cairo grapples with domestic power demands, but the last two years have tested Egypt-Israel energy cooperation in unprecedented ways.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Employees install new solar panels at the Kalyon Energy's Karapinar Solar Power Plant on December 02, 2021 in Karapinar, Turkey.

Turkey hits renewable milestone as solar surpasses gas in power capacity

Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said in a statement that wind and solar capacity combined had risen to 39,215 megawatts by the end of November.

A worker turns a valve at the Shirawa oil field, where oil was first pumped in Iraq in 1927, outside the northern city of Kirkuk, Jan. 19, 2004.

Analysis

What Turkey wants from Iraq to renew pipeline deal

Ankara is pushing for full control over the pipeline’s Turkish section and a capacity-allocation system, as arbitration battles with Baghdad drag on.

David O'Byrne

By David O'Byrne

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, EGYPT - OCTOBER 13: U.S. President Donald Trump and President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi clasp hands as they speak to the press before their meeting on October 13, 2025 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. President Trump is in Egypt to meet with European and Middle Eastern leaders in what’s being billed as an international peace summit, following the start of a US-brokered ceasefire deal to end the war in the Gaza Strip. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Analysis

How Netanyahu ceded to Trump, agreed to Egypt's $35B gas deal

The Israeli prime minister's frustration with Trump administration strong-arming continues, with pressure to sign Egypt gas deal and now a reported push for Sisi meeting.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presents the new government to parliament at the Knesset in Jerusalem on Dec. 29, 2022.

Israel's Netanyahu approves $35B natural gas megadeal with Egypt

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Israel will sell Egypt natural gas worth $35 billion, in the biggest-ever deal of its kind for the country.

Yemeni employees walk at the Aden oil refinery company in Yemen's port city of Aden on Sept. 29, 2015.

Analysis

Yemen’s oil heartland fuels new conflict as STC seeks new political power

By targeting Yemen’s oil-rich regions, the Southern Transitional Council has positioned itself to alter power balances nationally and strengthen its bid for an independent state in the south.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

This picture taken on Aug. 23, 2019 in Istanbul shows a view of Turkish General Directorate of Mineral research and Exploration's (MTA) Oruc Reis seismic research vessel docked at Haydarpasa port, which searches for hydrocarbon, oil, natural gas and coal reserves at sea.

Analysis

Turkey moves into Somalia’s untapped oil, raises stakes in Horn of Africa

Turkey’s plan to start drilling in 2026 marks its most assertive bid yet to secure a strategic foothold in Somalia, as Mogadishu continues to fight an Islamist insurgency.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

U.S. President Donald Trump (R) shakes hands with President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Oval Office at the White House on September 25, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump has signaled that the U.S. might lift a ban on F-35 sales to Turkey during Erdogan's first visit to the White House since 2019. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Turkey, US push toward $100B trade goal as Bolat heads to Washington

Bilateral trade between the United States and Turkey reached almost $43 billion in 2024, according to the US trade representative.

An employee works at the Rmailan oil field in the northeastern Syria, near the border with Turkey, on Jan. 8, 2025.

Saudi Arabia deepens footprint in Syria with four new oil and gas deals

The year-old Syrian government looks to revive the country’s energy sector, in part by signing deals with international companies and attracting foreign direct investment.

KARIM JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images

Qatar, UAE step up LNG plans as global demand surges

The United Arab Emirates and Qatar energy ministers share a vision of vastly expanding liquefied natural gas exports to meet the growing global demand.

United Arab Emirates