News

The war in the Middle East is creating the biggest oil supply disruption in history, the International Energy Agency said on Thursday, a day after it agreed to release a record volume from strategic stockpiles to offset shortages and a spike in prices. Global supply is expected to drop by 8 million barrels per day in March, the IEA said in its latest monthly oil market report - a volume equal to almost 8% of world demand - due to the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow channel along [Read more]

The U.S. plans to release 172 million barrels of oil from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve, more than 40% of a wider release coordinated with allies, to help dampen prices spiked by supply disruptions from the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. The U.S. sale, announced late on Wednesday, is part of a 400-million-barrel release by members of the International Energy Agency. The U.S. Department of Energy said the U.S. drawdown would begin next week and take about four months. The SPR currently holds [Read more]

Directive 058: Building Defensible Compliance in Alberta’s New Regulatory Era The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) has released its updated Directive 058: Oilfield Waste Management Requirements for the Upstream Petroleum Industry, and industry operators will be faced with one of the most comprehensive waste focused regulatory updates in recent years. From WiQ Technology Inc.’s (WiQ) perspective, the revision signals a clear elevation of expectations around documentation, traceability, and [Read more]

Crude oil futures prices are reflecting a view that the market can successfully navigate the Iran war, while prices for physical cargoes and refined products are signalling an imminent crisis. Only one of these price signals is correct - and it's not what is happening in the paper oil market. Global benchmark Brent crude futures ended at $91.98 a barrel on Wednesday, up 4.8% from the prior close but still down from the brief spike on March 9 that saw them reach $119.50, the highest in [Read more]

The IEA's decision to release 400 million barrels of oil from global strategic reserves has already had a "strong impact" on energy markets, which are in an "extremely critical period" after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, its Executive Director Fatih Birol said on Thursday. The International Energy Agency's coordinated move in the face of the Iran war was aimed to stabilise oil markets, Birol said at an Istanbul press conference. He declined to respond to a question on the daily pace [Read more]

Goldman Sachs raised its Brent and WTI crude oil price forecasts for the fourth quarter of 2026 to $71/67 per barrel from $66/62 as it sees longer disruption to oil flows in the Strait of Hormuz due to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. Brent prices have gained more than 36% since the war began on February 28, while WTI has risen about 39%. Both benchmarks briefly topped $119 on Monday, their highest levels since mid-2022. The fighting has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, leaving tankers [Read more]