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]

Middle East oil refineries could recover to more normal production levels in 40-60 days from the end of the current oil supply crisis linked to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Vitol Bahrain's regional head of research Bader Nooruddin said on Wednesday. That timeline would take production up to around 90-95% of refinery production, he said at the S&P Global Energy Middle East Petroleum and Gas Conference. Middle East Gulf refineries, including Oman which sits to the south [Read more]

U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran has agreed not to have a nuclear weapon and that he would probably meet with Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khameneiat some point if things "work out". "They've already agreed they're not going to have a nuclear weapon," Trump told "Pod Force One" in an interview broadcast on Wednesday, while speaking about Iran. Asked about Khamenei's involvement in talks with the U.S. on ending hostilities, Trump said, "He's involved, absolutely.... I think they have a lot [Read more]

There will be a spike in oil demand to replenish storage levels after the current global oil supply crisis in overcome, ADNOC senior vice president of business transformation Fatema Bin Saleem Al Teneiji said on Tuesday. Oil demand will then start to pick up as oil prices normalise, she said at the S&P Global Energy Middle East Petroleum and Gas Conference in London. (Reporting by Robert Harvey in London, Editing by Louise Heavens) [Read more]