Oil prices rose by more than $2 a barrel in early trade on Wednesday on shrinking U.S. crude inventories, recouping some of the previous session's losses caused by a pause in fighting between Washington and Tehran. Brent futures increased by $2.71, or 3.2%, to $86.80 a barrel at 0002 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $2.26, or 3.4%, to $81.95. U.S. crude inventories fell by about 3.3 million barrels in the week ended July 24,market sources said on Tuesday, citing data [Read more]

The American Petroleum Institute opposes tolls or transit fees for vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz, the top U.S. oil industry trade group's chief executive Mike Sommers told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday. Reuters reported that Oman has presented Iran with a plan backed by Gulf states to manage the Strait of Hormuz, which includes Tehran collecting voluntary fees from vessels using the waterway, according to a Gulf source and a Western diplomat. Here are some more details: * "I [Read more]

Yemen's Houthis said they fired ballistic missiles at a Saudi oil tanker in the Red Sea, stepping up enforcement of a newly declared maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia. The Iran-aligned group's military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, said the vessel had breached the blockade, ignored warning calls and was forced to change course. Separately, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said on Tuesday that the master of a tanker had reported hearing an explosion while transiting the southern [Read more]

There are going to be no tolls and no fees for passage through the Strait of Hormuz in a coordination deal being discussed in relation to the waterway restricted by the Iran war, a U.S. official said on Tuesday. The U.S. official said Iran was making unreasonable demands that were rejected by Oman and the United States. (Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw; writing by Kanishka Singh in Washington; editing by Jasper Ward) [Read more]

Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday that its air defenses intercepted and destroyed several drones launched from Iraqi territory that attempted to target oil facilities in the kingdom's key Eastern Province. It was the second such attack in less than two days, raising the stakes for Baghdad as Riyadh presses Iraq to prevent its territory from being used as a launchpad against Saudi oil facilities. Saudi defense ministry spokesperson Turki al-Maliki said on X that the drones were launched from Iraqi [Read more]

U.S. natural gas producer Expand Energy beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter profit on Tuesday, helped by higher output. U.S. producers are benefiting from surging electricity demand for natural gas to power data centers as well as rising liquefied natural gas exports. The company's production averaged 6.9 billion cubic feet per day (Bcfepd) during the quarter ended June, up from about 6.6 bcfepd in the prior year. However, the average realized price of natural gas was $2.90 [Read more]

China has held direct talks with Yemen's Houthi movement to enable its tankers to sail through the southern Red Sea without being attacked after the Iran-aligned militia pledged to prevent access to Saudi ports, six sources with knowledge of the matter have said. The Houthis declared their blockade on July 20, opening a new front against the U.S. and its allies in the Iran war and expanding attacks on tankers carrying energy and other supplies to markets beyond the Middle East. Beijing has [Read more]

Yemen's Houthis said on Tuesday that they had fired ballistic missiles at a Saudi oil tanker, accusing the vessel of violating what they described as their maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea and ignoring warning calls. The Iran-aligned group's military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, said the vessel was forced to turn back. (Reporting by Enas Alashray and Muhammad Al Gebaly Editing by David Goodman ) [Read more]