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he U.S. military's Central Command repeated an assertion on Tuesday evening that has been made by the Trump administration many times over the last two weeks, insisting that "despite Iranian aggression, the Strait of Hormuz remains open for commercial vessel traffic." Despite the U.S. president and military continuing to urge vessels to use a southern route through the strait, in defiance of Iran's threats, few shippers seem willing to risk it. The Joint Maritime Information Center in Bahrain, a military partnership that includes the U.S., said commercial traffic in the Strait of Hormuz fell to a three-week low on Tuesday...

Mitsubishi Corp. finalized a $7.5 billion acquisition of Dallas-based Aethon Energy Management’s Haynesville Shale assets this week, as another Japanese conglomerate moved to secure natural gas from northwest Louisiana for its LNG supply chain. Tokyo-based Mitsubishi is the latest Japanese multinational energy company to buy production in north Louisiana following JERA’s February close on a $1.5 billion purchase of the South Mansfield gas field and supporting infrastructure from Williams and GeoSouthern Energy affiliates, both U.S.-based companies. Taken together, Japanese multinationals will produce an estimated 4.5 billion cubic feet per day or about 30%-35% of the Haynesville region’s total natural gas...

Three tankers were struck by projectiles Tuesday in the Strait of Hormuz, the British military said, in the latest attacks targeting vessels moving through the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf. One of the tankers was traveling off the coast of Oman and caught fire, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center. Iranian state television said the liquefied natural gas tanker came under attack after ignoring warnings but did not directly claim the assault. Two other tankers were also hit, including one that was struck by a drone. It was not immediately clear where they were at the...

The Islamic Republic of Iran has announced that they have closed the Strait of Hormuz. The reality on the ground shows that ships continue to travel through the waterway unimpeded, with U.S. naval assets in the region confirming that the Strait is completely open.Despite the announced closure of the Strait of Hormuz by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Navy (IRGC-N), vessel traffic appears to be continuing, with several vessels using both the Iranian and U.S. announced traffic separation schemes. pic.twitter.com/05fjVSSaYE— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) June 20, 2026🚨 JUST NOW: Iran caught LYING that they "closed" the Strait of Hormuz againCENTCOM: "Commercial ship...

Foreign intelligence services are using "spy turtles" and "spy fish" to snoop on China, the country's Ministry of State Security said Friday. "An unseen covert war of espionage is currently unfolding" in the seas around China's coast, the ministry wrote in a post on the WeChat social media platform. In recent years, overseas spy agencies have been "continuously collecting and stealing sensitive maritime data through various new types of espionage equipment," it said, including "spy turtles and spy fish." In certain Chinese waters, "relatively large living marine animals have been fitted with sensors to swim in specific areas, collect ocean...

A sanctioned Russian LNG tanker from the Portovaya project idled near Singapore in May 2026 with no buyer. At the same time, Ukrainian drones had already knocked roughly 700,000 barrels per day of Russian refining capacity offline across 16 major facilities. Europe had locked in a binding legal phase-out of Russian gas. And just four months earlier, U.S. forces had captured Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela.

I am angry. I’ve been relentlessly scrolling through social media and sundry reports tracking Marco Rubio’s statements throughout the day at various forums during his visit of India. It is Sunday, Day 2 of his four-day sojourn, and he has already kicked up quite a storm, telling the audience at an event in US embassy in New Delhi to mark America’s 250th Independence Day celebrations that “one of those relationships”… he is “so excited about going in to the 21st century, given the challenges and the opportunities of this new era, is India… one of those countries that I know...

It is too early to foretell the future production from the Arckaringa Basin. There are numerous steps before oil production can start. For example, a 300-kilometre pipeline to Port Bonython, or a spur to link the Arckaringa Basin to the existing Moomba-Port Bonython pipeline, will need to be built before any oil could reach the market. Crude oil storage and export capacity at Port Bonython will also have to be increased significantly to accommodate extra crude.There is likely to be bipartisan support for shale oil production in South Australia. However the potential for carbon-intensive shale production in South Australia is...

IRAN AWARDS ENERGY BIDS TO WESTERN MAJORS NICOSIA [MENL] -- Iran has decided to award energy development contracts to Western majors. An Iranian state oil firm said the Oil Ministry would grant Total, Royal Dutch Shell and Repsol upstream development contracts in the South Pars gas field in the Gulf. The Pars Oil and Gas Co. said the three Western contractors would develop phases 11 and 13 of South Pars. France's Total was expected to be awarded the contract to develop Phase 11 of South Pars, regarded as the largest reservoir of natural gas in the world. Iran wants Total...

The German chancellor Friedrich Merz has desperately backflipped on his criticism of US President Donald Trump after he threatened to remove thousands of US troops from Germany. German chancellor desperately backtracks on Trump criticism after savage threat to remove troops | 4:55 | 6.18M subscribers | 368,472 views | May 4, 2026

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has condemned a US decision to extend the period during which Russia is allowed to sell oil despite Western sanctions. The move means countries can purchase Russian oil and petroleum products already loaded on vessels at sea until 16 May. The US argues that the waiver is meant to ease the energy supply crunch sparked by the US-Israel war with Iran. But in his remarks on Sunday, Zelensky said "every dollar paid for Russian oil is money for the war" in Ukraine. Widespread sanctions have been in place against Russia since President Vladimir Putin launched his...

Several Trump administration officials helped break ground on a new natural gas pipeline in New York that could be an energy grid saver for millions who have suffered from the impact of stupid Democrat energy policies.The 2019 New York Climate Act is driving up fuel and energy prices in the blue state and setting it up for rolling blackouts and grid reliability collapse. Obviously, Democrats will never solve the problems they caused, so it is up to the Trump administration to take action, as it is doing. Energy Secretary Chris Wright declared in an April 14 press release, “For decades,...

I just saw a list of the commodities that are undergoing restriction of distribution in the Strait of Hormuz. When seeing a stark view of them, together as a group, I hadn't realized how extensive it is: 1) oil (gasoline and deisel), 2) liquid natural gas (LNG), 3) urea (fertilizer for food), 4) sulfuric acid (phosphate fertilizers for farming), 5) helium (microchips). (Source: Larry Johnson, today 04/06/2026 at 9 AM E.S.T.). I would like to hear from someone who has a good, fundamental understanding of economics, about the following question, (not someone who is an academic egghead, not anyone who...

The EU must implement its trade deal with the US without amendments or risk losing “favourable” access to liquefied natural gas shipments from American exporters, Donald Trump’s ambassador to the bloc has warned. EU ratification of last year’s agreement between the US president and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has been delayed by several issues, including Trump’s threats to invade Greenland.

Major disruptions in Qatar (15% of global LNG) and Australia have triggered a severe natural gas shortage, far worse than the oil shock. Gas prices have spiked sharply (Asia +143%, Europe +85%), with physical availability becoming a bigger issue than pricing. Countries are reverting to coal, Europe faces energy security risks, and rising gas costs could drive fertilizer shortages and food inflation.

Damage to a critical Qatari facility is threatening to keep energy prices high around the world even if the war in Iran ends soon in what some analysts are calling an “Armageddon” situation. Qatar’s Las Raffan plant supplies a fifth of the world’s liquefied natural gas, which is used for electricity, heating and cooking – but Iranian strikes have damaged the facility, worsening what is already the largest-ever energy supply disruption. “I woke up this morning and thought, ‘No, please no,’” Anne-Sophie Corbeau, former head of gas analysis at BP now at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, told...

There is little good to be said about war, even when the fight is one of good vs. evil. Lives lost, property, cities and infrastructures destroyed, and billions of dollars spent are among the tragic outcomes of war. Even when freedom and democracy ultimately triumph over tyranny and oppression, the cost of war is high for everyone involved. For Americans, one positive aspect of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran is the strong position in which Americans find themselves in regard to our energy independence. While gas pump prices are predictably seeing some spikes, the strong U.S. position in regard to...

The latest attacks by Iran on Qatar facilities have damaged infrastructure that accounts for 17% of QatarEnergy’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) export capability, Reuters reports. The attacks will also cut helium output by 14%, said QatarEnergy. QatarEnergy CEO Saad al-Kaabi told the news agency today, “I never in my wildest ‌dreams ⁠would have thought that Qatar would be, Qatar and the region, in such an ⁠attack, especially from a brotherly Muslim country in the month of ⁠Ramadan, attacking us in this way.” That cut in production capability equates to an estimated $20bn in lost revenues each year, including the value...

Iranian attacks have knocked out 17% of Qatar’s liquefied natural ⁠gas export capacity, causing an estimated $20 billion in lost annual revenue and threatening supplies to Europe ​and Asia, QatarEnergy’s CEO told ​Reuters on Thursday. Saad ​al-Kaabi said two of Qatar’s 14 LNG trains and one of its two gas-to-liquids (GTL) facilities were damaged in the unprecedented strikes. The repairs will sideline 12.8 ⁠million tons ‌per year of LNG for three to ⁠five years, he said. “I never in my wildest dreams would have thought that Qatar would be - Qatar and the region - in such an attack, especially...

CAIRO (AP) — A Russian-flagged tanker carrying liquefied natural gas exploded and erupted in flames before sinking in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya, authorities in the North African country said Wednesday. No casualties were reported.The tanker was under Western sanctions, suspected to be part of Russia’s shadow fleet of energy tankers trying to bypass sanctions imposed on Moscow over its war in Ukraine. The cause of the explosion was not immediately clear. According to the Libyan Maritime Authority, there was a “sudden explosions, followed by a massive fire” on the Arctic Metagaz on Tuesday while the LNG...