SLB beat expectations for second-quarter profit on Friday, as resilient demand across key markets helped the top U.S. oilfield services firm ride out weakness in the Middle East due to the Iran war, sending its shares up 2% before the bell. Frequent flare-ups in the war, now in its fifth month, have kept a crucial oil-producing region on edge, with Iran now seeking to shut the Bab el-Mandeb gateway ​to the Red Sea after choking off shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The Middle East is [Read more]

U.S. President Donald Trump promised "major military punishment" for Iran and its Houthi allies after the Yemeni fighters struck two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, extending the Middle East war to a second major shipping chokepoint. Fears that disruption could widen to block another sea route sent global oil prices surging in one of the steepest rises of the war. Brent crude rose more than 6%, piercing the level of $100 a barrel for the first time since May. Two weeks since the [Read more]

Oil headed for weekly gains on Friday, as Houthi attacks on tankers in the Red Sea sparked worries about the closure of a second shipping chokepoint, while Kazakhstan temporarily cut output after its main export route was forced to shut. Brent futures eased 72 cents, or 0.72%, to $99.97 a barrel as of 0126 GMT, but remained on course for a 13.5% advance this week. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures fell 70 cents, or 0.76%, to $91.49 a barrel, on track for a 10.9% weekly rise. Brent had [Read more]

U.S. President Donald Trump told Axios in an interview on Thursday that he is seriously considering restarting major combat operations in Iran, which could include larger strikes than those carried out during "Operaton Epic Fury," the news outlet reported. "They haven't received enough pain yet," Axios quoted Trump as saying, adding that Trump said he had not yet made a final decision. (Reporting by Ryan Patrick Jones in Toronto) [Read more]

The expansion of the Iran war to the Red Sea has thrown the oil market another dangerous curveball, choking off a fragile recovery in energy flows. The global economy might increasingly respond to this escalation by slowing down. Nearly two weeks into the renewed conflict between the United States and Iran, tensions in the Middle East rose sharply after the Iran-backed Houthi militia on Monday declared a blockade against Saudi vessels seeking to pass through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the [Read more]

Some Chinese refiners have ramped up purchases of sanctioned Russian crude despite shrinking discounts, as an escalation in the Iran war disrupts exports from the Middle East, sources familiar with the situation said. Chinese independent refiners made rare purchases of non-sanctioned Middle East crude at wide discounts when exports gushed out during the short-lived truce between the U.S. and Iran. A resumption of attacks and shipping blockades in the Strait of Hormuz is again throttling oil [Read more]

Matador Resources said on Thursday it would buy privately held Paloma Permian from EnCap Investments for about $1.28 billion, adding high-quality drilling assets in the oil-rich Delaware Basin. U.S. shale producers are prioritizing acquisitions that add premium drilling inventory over rapid production growth to maintain capital discipline, allowing them to sustain output and shareholder returns for longer. The deal gives Matador access to 16,235 net undeveloped acres in Eddy and Lea [Read more]