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Iran expects to restore most damaged refining and distribution facilities to 70–80% of their pre-attack capacity within one to two months, a senior oil official said, as authorities work to recover from a wave of strikes on energy infrastructure. Deputy Minister of Oil Mohammad Sadeq Azimifar told the Student News Network that repair work had begun and that part of the Lavan refinery is expected to resume operations within about 10 days, with other units coming back online [Read more]

Saudi Arabia has restored full oil pumping capacity through the East-West pipelineto about seven million barrels per day, it said on Sunday, days after providing an assessment of damage on its energy sector from attacks during the Iran conflict. The ministry said energy facilities and the pipeline affected by attacks during the conflict have recovered and restored operational capacity. Saudi did not specify who launched the attacks, but the kingdom has intercepted many Iranian missiles and [Read more]

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that any attempt by military vessels to transit the Strait of Hormuz would be met with "a strong response," saying only non-military vessels would be allowed to pass under specific regulations, the IRGC said in a statement carried by Iranian media. (Reporting by Enas Alashray in Cairo; Editing by Alistair Bell) [Read more]

German Finance Minister and Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil on Saturday said government action was the best way to bring down soaring petrol and diesel prices, deepening a rift within the coalition over how to best tackle the current energy crisis. The Iran war has severely disrupted global energy supplies, hitting Europe's largest economy with higher costs for gas and oil at a time when it is already struggling with tepid growth and tariffs. "Intervening in the market is actually the most [Read more]

The discount on Western Canada Select crude oil to North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures was unchanged on Friday. WCS for May delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $15.55 a barrel below the U.S. benchmark WTI, according to brokerage CalRock, flat on Thursday's close. * The WCS differential has been volatile since the start of the U.S. war on Iran, with competing variables pulling and pushing on relative prices for Canadian heavy crude, said Wood Mackenzie analyst Dylan [Read more]

The U.S. Department of Energy said on Friday it had loaned 8.48 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to four oil companies, the second allotment under the Trump administration's effort to curb fuel prices that have surged during the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. The companies that have been awarded SPR loans are Gunvor USA, Phillips 66 Company, Trafigura Trading and Macquarie Commodities Trading, the DOE said. The U.S. had offered on April 1 to loan up to 10 million [Read more]

U.S. energy firms this week cut the number of oil and natural gas rigs operating for the third time in four weeks, energy services firm Baker Hughes said in its closely followed report on Friday. The oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, fell by three to 545 in the week to April 10, the lowest since late March. Baker Hughes said this week's decline puts the total rig count down 38 rigs, or about 7% below this time last year. Baker Hughes said oil rigs held at 411 [Read more]

Britain will convene a latest round of talks with allies next week over ways to free up the Strait of Hormuz to shipping without resorting to paying tolls to Iran, a British official with knowledge of the planned discussions said on Friday. Officials from Britain's foreign ministry were due to meet counterparts from countries which took part in discussions on April 2 that were led by UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The discussions [Read more]

Shale producer Occidental Petroleum said on Friday its worldwide average realized oil prices fell about 1.6% year-on-year in the first quarter, despite higher benchmark crude rates amid Middle East-related energy market disruption. The U.S.-Israel war on Iran has caused a massive disruption of energy supplies as the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for a fifth of global energy flows, has been effectively closed. Benchmark Brent crude prices averaged $89.62 per barrel during the first quarter, [Read more]