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U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Friday he and his team are working with the White House's National Security Council to monitor the situation in the Middle East and any potential impacts to global energy supply. Wright said on X, after Israel's strikes on Iran's nuclear sites and Iran's response of missiles on Israel, that President Donald Trump's policy of maximizing U.S. oil and gas output, which also involves slashing pollution regulations, has boosted U.S. energy [Read more]

Iran fired less than 100 missiles on Israel on Friday, most of which have either been intercepted or fallen short, the Israeli military said. "A limited number of buildings were affected, some of them as a result of shrapnel from the interception operations," the Israeli military's Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, said in a post on X (Reporting by Hatem Maher) [Read more]

U.S. energy firms this week cut the number of oil and natural gas rigs operating for a seventh week in a row to the lowest since November 2021, 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 four to 555 in the week to June 13. Baker Hughes said this week's decline puts the total count down by 35 rigs or 6% below this time last year. The oil rig count fell by three to 439 this week, [Read more]

Mediterranean crude oil differentials were stable on Friday as investors gauged the impact of Israeli strikes on Iran. * Differentials for Mediterranean crude oil grades, including Caspian CPC Blend and Azeri BTC Blend, have firmed in recent sessions, two traders said, though specific trade details were scant. * Israeli attacks on Iran have not hit Iran's oil facilities. The worst case for oil is a "major cut down" on traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which would hit exports of Middle [Read more]

CALGARY - An analyst says a spike in crude prices driven by the latest Mideast turmoil could be a knee-jerk reaction that quickly subsides. Enverus commodities expert Al Salazar says unless there is a sustained disruption in global crude oil supplies as a result of Israel's attacks on Iran, prices should return to normal in fairly short order. In the early afternoon, West Texas Intermediate crude was at US$71.89 a barrel, an almost six per cent increase from a day earlier. Fuel prices [Read more]

Greece and Britain have advised their merchant shipping fleets to avoid sailing through the Gulf of Aden and to log all voyages through the Strait of Hormuz after Israel's large-scale attacks on Iran on Friday, documents seen by Reuters showed. Iran has in the past threatened to close the critical Strait of Hormuz to traffic in retaliation for Western pressure. Analysts have said that any closure of the Strait could restrict trade and impact global oil prices. Greek ship owners were urged [Read more]

OPEC Secretary-General Haitham Al Ghais on Friday said that the escalation between Israel and Iran does not justify any immediate changes to oil supply, as current conditions remain stable. (Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru, Editing by Louise Heavens) [Read more]

Israel will pay a heavy price for its attack on Iran which killed Revolutionary Guards top commander Hossein Salami, the Guards said in a statement on Friday, warning of a decisive retaliation against its "sworn enemies". "The Israeli attack was carried out with full knowledge and support of the wicked rulers in the White House and terrorist U.S. Regime," the Guards' statement said. (Reporting by Dubai Newsroom; Editing by Kim Coghill) [Read more]