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Global Energy Shortages Drive Renewed Reliance on Coal

Governments worldwide are racing to find a solution to contend with the severe energy shortages brought about by the war in Iran and the ongoing Middle East conflict. For some, this means accelerating the deployment of renewable energy, which is likely to be a longer-term solution. For others, it means relying on stockpiles of crude, while the oil trade remains limited. And, for many, it means using any type of energy available, including coal. Several countries have reduced their reliance on coal in recent years in favour of oil, gas, and renewable energy sources. This has supported the beginnings of a global green transition, decreasing dependence on the highly polluting fossil fuel as the cost of the production of other energy sources, such as solar and wind energy, has fallen. However, due to energy shortages and rising fuel prices, many countries ...

Analysis: Ukraine’s Drone Strikes vs. Russia So Far in 2026 – Bigger Swarms, More Explosions

Ukrainian kamikaze unmanned aircraft operators have in the past three months intensified their country's bombardment of Russia to hit targets at a record pace with denser swarms, using robot aircraft carrying bigger warheads against air defenses increasingly less capable of stopping the drones. Ukrainian drones carried out 40 major attacks against targets in a 50-250 kilometer range envelope from the front lines in the first half of March, a study published by the Ukrainian defense research group Oboronka said. That strike rate is about 50% more intense than the record count of Ukrainian drone strikes against mid- and long-range targets in Russia for the entire war: 57 attacks in December 2025. Kyiv Post tracking of Ukrainian drone attacks against all Russian targets at all ranges (not including frontline, tactical drone attacks) likewise showed Ukrainian drone attacks against Russia are accelerating. On average, ...

From Boston to Denver, US drivers cut back as Iran war pushes fuel costs higher

By Shariq Khan, Georgina McCartney and Tim McLaughlin NEW YORK, April 11 (Reuters) – Boston resident Pat Ouedraogo has cut longer-distance trips, while aspiring law student Skyler Burke drives extra miles to avoid pricier gasoline pumps closer to home. In Houston, auto broker David Wright has switched from a gas-guzzling race car to an all-electric vehicle. These struggles are being echoed by motorists across the United States, many of whom have grown increasingly wary of the Iran war as it drives fuel prices toward record highs. Energy market experts have described the six-week-old war as the worst oil-supply disruption ever as major production facilities have been hit and a key shipping passage has effectively closed. “It's a situation where you feel powerless about these prices,” Ouedraogo said, while pumping a few gallons of gasoline into his Nissan SUV at a Shell station that ...

Oil Flows from Saudi Port Steady for Now despite Attack

Saudi Arabia's oil exports via the Red Sea are holding steady for now, as the impact of a drone attack on its vital cross-country pipeline has yet to filter through. The strike on Wednesday — hours after a ceasefire was declared in the Iran war — damaged one of 11 pumping stations along the 746-mile (1,200-kilometer) conduit from oil fields in the east to the Red Sea coast in the west. That has reduced throughput by 700,000 barrels a day, the state-run Saudi Press Agency said Thursday, citing an energy ministry official. Still, it's too soon for the attack on the pipeline to impact on exports from terminals at Yanbu. The speed at which oil passes through the link means that it will take several days for the lower flow rate to curb the amount of crude reaching the Red Sea port. Saudi ...

North Sea oil prices hit record high amid Strait of Hormuz row

North Sea oil prices have surged to an unprecedented high, driven by a frantic rush among traders to secure vital supplies. This comes amid heightened geopolitical tensions, following accusations from US President Donald Trump that Iran has failed to uphold a ceasefire agreement to immediately open the Strait of Hormuz. The benchmark Forties Blend, which tracks oil produced off the UK coast, climbed to nearly US $147 (£109.50) a barrel late on Thursday, eclipsing the previous peak record set during the 2008 financial crisis, according to data from LSEG. The cost of North Sea oil has seen dramatic increases since the onset of the Middle East conflict, rising from about US $60 (£44.70) a barrel at the start of the year. The jump is primarily attributed to the intense competition for physical oil shipments across Europe. Brent crude oil, while ...

JP Morgan Warns Oil Could Hit $120 if Hormuz Stalemate Drags Into July

Oil prices could spike and hit again their peak Iran-war levels at nearly $120 per barrel if a full recovery of vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz takes until July, according to JP Morgan. Despite the ceasefire announced earlier this week, traffic through the critical oil chokepoint remains severely restricted and under supervision and approval by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). "The ceasefire has not reopened the Strait of Hormuz, and transit remains tightly controlled," maritime intelligence firm Windward said on Thursday. "Transit through the Strait of Hormuz remains restricted, coordinated, and selectively enforced," the firm said, noting that "There has been no return to open commercial navigation." The market hopes that the Iran-U.S. negotiations this weekend could further de-escalate the situation and lead to a faster re-opening of commercial navigation at the Strait of Hormuz. However, huge risks and uncertainties remain, including ...

Airports could face a jet fuel crunch within 3 weeks as airlines weigh flight cancellations

Europe's airport industry has warned that jet fuel shortages could hit within three weeks, disrupting summer travel and "significantly" harming the European economy. ACI Europe, which represents airports across the European Union, said on Thursday that a supply crunch would derail airport operations and air connectivity. In a letter to the EU Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism Apostolos Tzitzikostas, shared with CNBC, the industry body warned of the "harsh economic impacts" fuel shortages would have on the European economy. "At this stage, we understand that if the passage through the Strait of Hormuz does not resume in any significant and stable way within the next three weeks, systemic jet fuel shortage is set to become a reality for the EU," the letter said. ACI Europe said potential shortages are particularly worrisome ahead of the "peak summer season", when many EU member states rely ...

This Isn’t a 1970s Oil Shock

After nearly six weeks, the Iran war has become the most severe disruption to global oil markets in decades. Oil prices have risen by as much as 40 percent, and Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has decimated supply, affecting 20 percent of global petroleum consumption and roughly 25 percent of the oil trade by sea. Even with a temporary cease-fire, the damage done so far will have profound, lasting consequences for the global economy. Some analysts have drawn comparisons of the current moment to the oil crises of the 1970s, which were also driven by geopolitical shocks in the Middle East. The first of these began on Oct. 6, 1973, when Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Israel, prompting the United States to resupply Israeli forces. In response, Arab members of OPEC cut production and imposed an ...

Japan Weighs Releasing More Oil Reserves as Hormuz Risks Persist

Japan is weighing the idea to release in May another batch of oil stocks from reserves to provide about 20 days of oil consumption, amid continued uncertainty about tanker transits through the Strait of Hormuz, Kyodo News reported on Thursday, citing a source close to the deliberations. Japan, which depends on Middle Eastern oil supply for about 95% of its oil supply, began releasing oil stocks from national reserves at the end of March, as part of the IEA-coordinated record-high release of 400 million barrels of oil and fuel. Japan is releasing a total of 80 million barrels of oil stocks, including 54 million barrels of crude and 26 million barrels of oil products as part of the IEA's 400-million-barrel release. At the time in which Japan first tapped its stocks, Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi asked Fatih Birol, the executive director ...

Fragile Iran Cease-Fire Comes Under Pressure From Lebanon Strikes

The fragile cease-fire between the United States and Iran could hang in the balance over what Washington has labeled a "misunderstanding" about whether the truce includes Israel's offensive against Tehran-backed Hezbollah assets in Lebanon. US Vice President JD Vance, during a visit to Hungary on April 8, said he believes there was a "legitimate misunderstanding" about the terms of the truce announced the night before by President Donald Trump. "I think the Iranians thought that the cease-fire included Lebanon, and it just didn't," he said, adding that "neither us nor the Israelis said that that was going to be part of the cease-fire." "If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart over Lebanon…that's ultimately their choice," he told reporters, adding that Israel was ready to show restraint in its attacks in Lebanon. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Lebanon was not ...

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