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U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said the United States would hit Iran "very hard tonight" and that he wanted to eventually seize Kharg Island, the export heart of one of the world's largest oil producers. Following are key facts on Iran's energy industry: KHARG ISLAND The third-largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Iran exports 90% of its crude via Kharg Island, which sits 16 miles (26 km) from Iran's coast in the northern end of the Gulf, [Read more]

The Iran war has become an additional driver of demand for gas turbines, Siemens Energy executives said on Thursday, at a time when manufacturers are already flooded with orders due to the massive data centre expansion in the United States. Along with rivals GE Vernova and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Siemens Energy has seen demand for gas turbines soar as so-called hyperscalers invest more than $700 billion in energy-hungry artificial intelligence, in turn driving demand for new energy [Read more]

President Donald Trump said on Thursday he wants to take over Kharg Island, Iran's oil infrastructure hub. Analysts say the U.S. military could seize the island quickly, but the move could leave U.S. troops in great peril and prolong rather than shorten the war. WHERE IS KHARG ISLAND AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? Kharg Island sits 16 miles (26 km) from Iran's coast in the northern end of the Gulf, about 300 miles (483 km) northwest of the Strait of Hormuz. It lies in waters deep enough to [Read more]

FREDERICTON - The CEO of New Brunswick's electricity utility says its proposal for a natural gas-powered generating station remains the best option for avoiding blackouts within the next two years. Lori Clark told a legislative committee this morning that the project was fast-tracked with customers' best interests in mind. She says the Crown corporation changed its regular approval methods to speed up the project. Clark's comments come after the province's auditor general issued a [Read more]

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he would like to take over Iran's oil infrastructure hub Kharg Island but he was not sure Americans have the appetite for a major escalation in the war. "We are talking to them and all, but you know, look, my preference has always been - take Kharg Island... my preference would be that. I don't know that America has the stomach for it," he said in an interview on Fox News. Trump said the U.S. will attack Iran again with intensified strikes on [Read more]

OPEC on Thursday lowered its forecast for world oil demand growth in 2026 to 970,000 barrels per day, the producer group said in its monthly report, marking the second straight downward revision. The group continues to see a smaller impact on consumption since the Iran war started than other forecasters such as the U.S. Energy Information Administration and the International Energy Agency. OPEC said consumption would rebound later and raised its demand growth forecast for 2027. The war has [Read more]

The United States has become the world's largest oil exporter, upending a decades-old order long dominated by Saudi Arabia and Russia, a shift that tightens American companies' grip on energy markets as Washington's war with Iran reshapes global energy trade. America's ascendancy to the top spot marks a stunning reversal for a country that was dependent on Middle Eastern oil for decades and suffered from an oil embargo imposed by some OPEC members in 1973 to retaliate against U.S. support for [Read more]

Just one-in-three Americans approve of the fast pace of data-center construction that supports artificial intelligence and most would oppose building one in their own community, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll. The poll results reflect widespread public unease over the data center boom in the United States, an issue high on the minds of voters and political campaigns ahead of the November 3 midterm elections. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has prioritized rapid AI [Read more]

Efforts to reach a preliminary deal between Iran and the U.S. have intensified, three Iranian sources and a European official told Reuters on Thursday, despite strikes launched by both sides, as they discuss a mechanism over releasing frozen Iranian funds. The sources said Iran and the United States were still exchanging messages over details of a memorandum of understanding amid the ongoing confrontation between Tehran and Washington. The Iranian sources said a political understanding had [Read more]

Saudi Arabia and neighbouring Gulf producers will cheer the eventual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, but the ensuing flood of oil risks eroding OPEC’s already fragile grip on the market. The Iran war and the closure of the vital waterway – through which nearly a fifth of the world’s oil and gas flowed before the conflict – have sharply diminished output from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and moved the industry’s centre of gravity away from the Middle East. Riyadh’s [Read more]