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A direct communications channel between U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has been reactivated in recent days, Axios reported on Monday, citing a U.S. official and a source with knowledge of the matter. Axios said it was not clear how substantive the messages passed between Araghchi and Witkoff had been, adding it was the first known direct communication between the parties since the United States and Israel launched their war on Iran. Axios cited its [Read more]

Authorities in Abu Dhabi on Monday were dealing with a fire at the Shah oil and gas field caused by a drone attack and said that no injuries had been reported so far, the Abu Dhabi media office reported. The Shah field is one of the world's largest of its kind and is located 180 km (111.85 miles) southwest of Abu Dhabi. (Reporting by Muhammad Al Gebaly, Jaidaa Taha, Elwely Elwelly Editing by Tomasz Janowski) [Read more]

European Union foreign ministers showed "no appetite" to expand an EU naval mission in the Middle East to the Strait of Hormuz for the time being, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Monday. U.S. President Donald Trump has called on other nations to help police the strait after Iran responded to U.S.-Israeli attacks by using drones, missiles and mines to ‌effectively close the channel for tankers that normally transport a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas. The EU’s Aspides [Read more]

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that it was unclear whether new Iranian leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei was still alive, given reports he had been injured in an air strike. "We don't know... if he's dead or not. I will say that nobody has seen him, which is unusual," he said during an event at the White House. After Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, was killed in the initial strikes of the war, Tehran announced his son, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, had been named as his [Read more]

Daily oil exports from the Middle Eastern Gulf, home to top exporter Saudi Arabia and other major producers, have dropped by at least 60% in the week to March 15 compared to February due to disruptions and output cuts amid the U.S.-Iran war, according to shipping data and Reuters calculations. The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, normally used to transport about a fifth of the world's oil supply, has forced exporters to cancel shipments and shut production at oilfields, creating the [Read more]

This is a historic week in the world of monetary policymaking. The "G4" central banks meet in the same week for the first time since December 2021, and only the second time ever, with investors clamoring for evidence of whether the Middle East oil shock could make policymakers start thinking about rate hikes. None of these central banks – the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Bank of England and Bank of Japan – are expected to raise interest rates this week. But if the tone from the [Read more]

U.S. President Donald Trump has demanded help from allies to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which usually carries about a fifth of global energy supplies, but even if he can assemble a major coalition it could prove very hard to end Iran's blockade. Iran lies along one side of the narrow strait and has responded to the U.S.-Israeli attack from February 28 by using drones, missiles and mines to make the vital waterway unsafe for the colossal oil and gas tankers that slowly traverse it each [Read more]

Member countries of the International Energy Agency could release more oil into the market later "as and if needed" after they have already agreed the largest-ever reserve release, Executive Director Fatih Birol said on Monday. Birol said there will still be over 1.4 billion barrels remaining in IEA members' emergency oil stocks. "Despite this huge release, we still have a lot of stocks left. This current stock release, once it is completed, will reduce the emergency stocks in IEA [Read more]

On June 30, 2025, the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta granted an order appointing Grant Thornton Limited (“Grant Thornton”) as the receiver and manager (the “Receiver”) of the assets, undertakings and properties of TexCal Energy Canada Inc. (“TexCal” or the “Company”), effective July 3, 2025.  The Receiver has engaged Sayer Energy Advisors to assist it with a Sales and Investment Solicitation Process (the “SISP”). The SISP is intended to solicit interest in a sale or liquidation of all or [Read more]