Oil Gas

• Ameaça de bloqueio em estreito vital e a postura de Trump elevam o petróleo bruto, empurrando os preços nas bombas para o nível mais alto desde 2022 • Inscreva-se no e-mail Breaking News US para receber alertas de newsletters em sua caixa de entrada • Os preços médios da gasolina nos EUA atingiram uma nova máxima de $4,23 por galão, o valor mais alto desde 2022 e um recorde desde o início da guerra com o Irã, de acordo com o clube automobilístico AAA.

• Os representantes dos EUA, Jared Huffman e Jamie Raskin, classificaram os acordos como ultrajantes e ilegais no início deste mês. • O governo Trump bloqueou o desenvolvimento de dois projetos de energia eólica já licenciados nos EUA esta semana, com um acordo para pagar milhões de dólares em reembolsos às empresas responsáveis, caso esses fundos sejam reinvestidos em petróleo e gás. • Funcionários do Departamento do Interior dos EUA apresentaram os acordos cancelados como uma forma de “promover a segurança e a acessibilidade energética dos EUA”, canalizando fundos “para longe de fontes de energia intermitentes e de custo mais elevado, em direção a soluções convencionais comprovadas”, em um anúncio emitido na segunda-feira.

Energy company hails ‘exceptional’ contribution of oil trading operations as profits hit $3.2bn in the first quarterBusiness live – latest updatesBP’s quarterly profits have more than doubled amid a jump in oil and gas prices linked to the conflict in the Middle East.The energy company said on Tuesday that underlying profits for the first quarter were $3.2bn (£2.4bn), up from $1.38bn in the equivalent period a year ago and outstripping City forecasts of $2.67bn. Continue reading...

8-0 ruling gives companies new day in federal court after firms including Chevron ordered to pay millions for cleanupThe supreme court handed a win Friday to oil and gas companies fighting lawsuits over coastal land loss and environmental degradation in Louisiana.The 8-0 procedural decision gives the companies a new day in federal court after a state jury ordered Chevron to pay upward of $740m to clean up damage to the state’s coastline, one of multiple similar lawsuits. Continue reading...

Brent crude drops and gas prices slide amid hopes Donald Trump will succeed in reaching deal with TehranOil and gas prices tumbled by almost 10% on Friday after Iran said the strait of Hormuz would open to commercial shipping, potentially clearing the way for tankers holding millions of barrels of oil and gas to reach the global market.Iran’s foreign minister said that vessels would be free to transit the strait of Hormuz for the duration of the 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon struck on Thursday. Continue reading...

Company earnings expected to soar to between $200m and $700m in first quarterBusiness live – latest updatesShell is expected to report “significantly higher” profits from its commodity trading desks in the first quarter of this year after weeks of market volatility triggered by the Iran crisis.The surge in energy commodity markets over recent weeks is expected to drive up trading results at Shell’s chemicals and products unit, which includes its main oil trading desk. Continue reading...

Senior climate figures warn North Sea drilling would encourage fossil fuel exploitation by developing countriesOpening new oil and gas fields in the North Sea would “send a shock wave around the world”, imperilling international climate targets, undermining the UK’s climate leadership and encouraging developing countries to exploit their own fossil fuel reserves, experts have warned.The UK government is under stiff pressure from the oil industry, the Conservatives, Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party, some trade unions and parts of the Treasury to give the green light to new oil and gas fields, despite clear evidence that doing so would not cut prices and would have almost no effect on imports. Continue reading...

Critics say exemption exploits White House’s ‘self-made gas crisis’, and could doom the rare Rice’s whaleSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxA US government panel on Tuesday exempted oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico from the Endangered Species Act (ESA), a move which critics say could doom a rare whale species and harm other marine life.The Endangered Species Committee – which had not convened in more than three decades – voted to approve the request for the ESA exemption at the request of the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth. Continue reading...

GB Energy chief Jürgen Maier says boost could bring economic benefits amid energy cost crisis and actually help transition from fossil fuelsThe head of the UK’s national green energy champion has joined other high-profile renewable energy leaders in making the case for more North Sea oil and gas production as the government braces for an energy cost crisis.GB Energy boss Jürgen Maier used a social media post on LinkedIn to reject the claim that more North Sea oil and gas could help to bring down energy costs which have soared as the war in Iran has escalated. Continue reading...

Government emphasises need to ‘get off the rollercoaster of fossil fuel markets’ in response to Offshore Energies UKThe UK government has dismissed a warning from an energy trade body that failing to produce more homegrown North Sea oil and gas will leave the UK increasingly reliant on imports at a time of rising global instability.The industry group, Offshore Energies UK, has said the UK “urgently” needs a greater supply of domestically produced energy or consumers will be left “more exposed to global volatility and higher emissions”. Continue reading...

Month-ahead UK wholesale gas price hits highest level since August 2022 as Donald Trump threatens retaliationMiddle East crisis – live updatesBusiness live – latest updatesGas prices jumped and oil prices rose again after an escalation of attacks by Israel and Iran on gasfields heightened fears of prolonged disruption to international energy supplies.Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose by 8% to $116 a barrel. Crude prices have soared by nearly 60% since US and Israeli attacks on Iran started the war on 28 February. Continue reading...

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsUK wage growth slows sharply as unemployment holds steadyFed holds interest rates steady as Iran war drives up oil prices and inflation fearsMiddle East crisis live: Trump threatens to ‘blow up’ entire South Pars gasfield if Iran strikes QatarUK wage growth has slowed to a five-year low, in a worrying sign for workers as the Middle East crisis pushes up energy costs.Average pay (excluding bonuses) rose by 3.8% in the three months to January, down from 4.1% in October-December 2025, the Office for National Statistics reports.“With unemployment staying steady at 5.2% and a rare gain in payrolls employment, this report paints a mildly more positive picture of the labour market. And with wage growth softer again, in normal times this would have been a relatively reassuring report for the Bank of England.But the report feels stale in light of the Iran conflict, and the inflation risks stemming from the large spike in energy prices. So while today’s Bank of England meeting had once looked like the likely point of the next rate cut, instead policy is set to be kept on hold today as policymakers give themselves more time to see how the conflict plays out. Continue reading...

Effective closure of strait of Hormuz also affecting Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, which have brought in crisis measuresSri Lanka is introducing a shorter four-day working week to preserve its shrinking fuel and gas reserves, as the Middle East conflict continues to severely disrupt energy supplies in the region.Countries across south Asia are facing crippling shortages of fuel and LPG gas, which are used for everything from home cooking to cremating bodies, as most supplies have been held up in the Gulf since the US and Israel began bombing Iran. Continue reading...

The U.S. under President Trump expanded waivers on Russian oil sanctions to all buyers, including easing restrictions on stranded oil at sea, aiming to tame surging domestic gas prices amid global tensions. EU officials pushed back against the move, while NATO leaders urged reversal of the suspension to pressure Russia. The policy shift matters as it balances inflation control against geopolitical leverage in Ukraine support, potentially providing Russia billions. Next steps include monitoring price impacts and possible congressional pushback before midterms.