The Trump administration on Friday will hold a sale of oil and gas leases on 689,000 acres (278,828 hectares) in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a remote and pristine habitat for species including polar bear, caribou and migratory birds. The auction is the latest test of industry appetite for drilling in northern Alaska, a high risk endeavor involving decades of work and billions of dollars of investment. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management, an arm of the Department of the [Read more]

Oil prices were little changed on Friday following sharp declines in the previous session, with prospects dimming for a near-term end to the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran after the Hezbollah militia rejected a new ceasefire in Lebanon. Brent crude futures fell 21 cents, or 0.22%, to $95.24 a barrel by 0003 GMT after settling down 2.84% in the previous session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $92.94 a barrel, down 10 cents, or 0.11%, following a 3.1% loss on Thursday. Both [Read more]

The discount on Western Canada Select crude oil to North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures narrowed on Thursday. WCS for July delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $12.10 a barrel below the U.S. benchmark WTI, according to brokerage CalRock, compared with $12.40 a barrel on Wednesday. * The WCS differential has been volatile with WTI's swings since the start of the Iran conflict. * But the underlying demand for WCS barrels has remained strong, said RBN Energy [Read more]

Iranian exports of crude oil and condensate fell to their lowest level in at least six years in May, falling well below 300,000 barrels per day, mainly due to the U.S. naval blockade, according to shipping data and analysts. The U.S. began enforcing the blockade on April 13, choking Iranian exports as the oil market faces a supply crunch due to Iran's effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz cutting exports from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates. Iran's exports averaged [Read more]

Electricity demand in Texas grew 9% in recent months, nearly five times the U.S. average, driven by the expansion of data centers and cryptominers in the Lone Star State, according to data released by Hitachi Energy on Thursday. * The Texas power grid saw the largest jump in both power demand and the addition of new power supplies of any of the country's grids in the six months ended in March 2026, the Hitachi Energy Grid Pulse report said. * "Load growth over the last six months has been [Read more]

The trickle of tankers exiting the Strait of Hormuz has gathered pace in recent weeks, as traders adopt stealth measures to make the crossing. While this is freeing some of the vast oil inventories trapped in the Gulf, it does not signal a slow return to normalcy. Instead, it previews the opaque, fragmented energy market the Iran war is set to leave in its wake. More than four months into the conflict, the U.S. and Iran are still struggling to hammer out an agreement to formally end the war [Read more]

Oil prices fell on Thursday as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Lebanon boosted hopes for a broader agreement to end the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran that could lead to a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Brent futures were down 87 cents, or 0.89%, at $96.92 a barrel by 0458 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 78 cents, or 0.81%, to $95.24, paring gains from earlier in the week. Both Brent and WTI rose about 2% on Wednesday after renewed Middle East hostilities including [Read more]

The discount on Western Canada Select crude oil to North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures widened on Wednesday. WCS for July delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $12.40 a barrel below the U.S. benchmark WTI, according to brokerage CalRock, compared with $12.25 a barrel on Tuesday. * Since the start of the U.S. war on Iran, the WCS differential has been driven by the WTI market's extreme backwardation, a term for when immediate deliveries trade at a premium over [Read more]