“In the short term, it’s possible” that the energy crisis worsens, Descalzi said in an interview published on Saturday, while warning that Europe will remain heavily dependent on US liquefied natural gas to rebuild storage before winter. 

Competition for oil and gas is set to intensify as inventories shrink, with Europe in need to buy about 35 billion cubic meters of LNG to reach its 80% storage target before winter, he said. Italy is ahead of European peers, with gas stockpiles already at about 70% of capacity, he added.

Europe should use the “unprecedented succession of crises” — from the Covid-19 pandemic to Russia’s war in Ukraine and the conflict involving Iran — as a starting point to address energy security, Descalzi said.

The Strait of Hormuz crisis has marked a turning point for global energy security, with the risk of disruptions at strategic shipping chokepoints likely to raise transport and financing costs as well as insurance premiums, he said, adding that there is now a “before and after Hormuz.”

Europe should diversify energy sources and supplier nations while continuing to invest in hydrocarbons alongside renewables, carbon capture, biofuels and nuclear power, Descalzi said. He identified North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, South America and Southeast Asia as key regions for future supply diversification.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

“We are proud to announce that we have reached an agreement with the Trump Administration to move our updated Russia sanctions legislation forward,” Republicans Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Roger Wicker of Mississippi, joined by Democrats Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, said in a statement Friday.

“We are very pleased with this significant progress and expect to roll out the legislation very soon,” they added. 

Text of the legislation was not immediately available and it is unclear what changes the new measure would incorporate from previous drafts. 

“As Russia intensifies its slaughter of civilians, it is imperative that the legislative and executive branches work together to create tools to exact a heavy price on those who buy Russian oil and natural gas, fueling the Putin war machine,” the senators said.

The White House has sought changes in previous drafts to give the president more leeway to refrain from imposing sanctions. 

Graham, who has long pushed for tougher sanctions, met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier Friday in Kyiv. The senator has claimed Trump’s backing to advance sanctions legislation before, saying in January that Trump had “greenlit” such a bill, only to see momentum stall.

Graham’s bill was initially proposed in April last year, when the senator called for “bone-crushing” sanctions on Russia. That version of the measure would have authorized Trump to impose so-called secondary tariffs as high as 500% on countries that bought Russian energy.

That bill has yet to receive a vote in the Senate despite broad bipartisan support due to White House opposition. Last month the House passed an Ukraine aid bill with new Russian oil and gas sanctions over the objections of GOP leaders.

Trump has previously shown reluctance to take any steps against Russian President Vladimir Putin that would upset diplomatic efforts to secure a peace deal. Trump campaigned on a pledge to end the war on his first day in office but has since acknowledged that is a more challenging task.

This year, after the US and Israeli attack on Iran shut down energy flows from the Persian Gulf and triggered a global squeeze on oil markets, the Trump administration granted a series of temporary sanctions waivers for Russian sales. Those expired last month.

The new momentum for sanctions comes as Ukraine’s European allies are seeking to encourage Trump to refocus his attention on Russia’s war, now well into its fifth year. Trump spoke with both Putin and Zelenskyy last weekend and met with the Ukrainian president again this week on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Turkey.

Trump has taken steps against buyers of Russian oil in the past. Last year, he imposed a 25% tariff on Indian goods over New Delhi’s purchases of Russian energy. He later removed that levy to help cement a trade deal between the US and India. Other major purchasers such as China, however, avoided similar penalties.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

Kyiv forces struck the independent Ilsky oil refinery in Russia’s Krasnodar region and Novatek PJSC’s Ust-Luga gas-processing complex on the Baltic coast, Ukraine’s General Staff said in a Telegram statement. Thirteen tankers, three dry cargo vessels, a ferry and an auxiliary ship — all used to ensure military logistics as well as transport fuel and military cargo - were also hit, it added.

Bloomberg couldn’t independently verify the number of hit vessels.

Earlier, local authorities of the Krasnodar region on the Black Sea coast said that falling drone debris caused a fire at the Ilsky refinery, which has been extinguished. The governor of the neighboring Rostov region said that about 35 drones were downed overnight over Taganrog, causing a fire in the seaport, the town of Azov and nearby districts. 

Ukraine has significantly ramped up its attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure in recent months, targeting refineries, fuel depots and oil-product tankers in a move to curb supplies and pressure the Kremlin into negotiations, with the war well into the fifth year. Intensified strikes have already pushed Russia’s refinery runs below 4 million barrels a day, the lowest in over 20 years, and forced authorities to ban exports of most gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. 

The Ust-Luga facility, which was last targeted on Monday, processes stable gas condensate into a range of petroleum products including naphtha and jet fuel. It’s annual design processing capacity is about 7 million tons. 

Novatek didn’t immediately respond to Bloomberg request for a comment. 

The independent Ilsky refinery, which has a design capacity of about 6.6 million tons a year, was last targeted at the start of June. 

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

The US is still committed to finding a diplomatic solution with Iran, the official said Thursday, declining to be named discussing sensitive matters. The official described the ongoing discussions as technical talks.

The comments are likely to ease fears of a return to all-out war after the US launched strikes on Iranian military targets this week, retaliating against attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran hit back at US bases in the region, including in Kuwait and Bahrain.

The skirmishes underlined the precariousness of an interim agreement signed between Tehran and Washington in mid-June. Threats of retaliation between the warring sides have also persisted.

“An attack on infrastructure will be met with a reciprocal response,” Iran’s Supreme National Security Council secretary, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, said Friday, extending the warning to Israel.

Mediators including Qatar have worked in recent days to ease the soaring tensions between the US and Iran, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The two countries, which have been at war since the US and Israel bombarded Iran in late February, are trying to agree a permanent peace by around mid-August, though that timeline may have to be extended. 

Maritime traffic through the strait has fallen this week and oil has risen, with Brent up more than 6% to $76.50 a barrel, taking its gain this year to 25%. Still, it remains far below a peak in late April of $125, when traders were more concerned about all-out conflict resuming. Since then, US President Donald Trump has consistently signaled he wants to end a war the majority of Americans disapprove of and which has hit his polling numbers ahead of midterm elections in November.

Amid the new violence, Trump on Wednesday suggested the ceasefire was “over.” But he also said he would not prevent negotiations from going ahead.

Talks slowed this week as the Iran held days of funeral rites for former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an airstrike on the first day of the conflict. Khamenei was buried on Thursday in the north-eastern city of Mashhad. His son and successor, Mojtaba, has not been seen in public or appeared on video since taking on his new role, sparking questions over his health and involvement in negotiations with the US.

The flareup and the US Treasury’s decision to revoke a waiver allowing the sale of Iranian oil globally marked the biggest challenge to last month’s interim peace agreement.

The preliminary deal was meant to reopen Hormuz, a narrow waterway where a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas transited before the war effectively brought maritime traffic to a standstill.

Both sides have traded accusations of violating the truce, with Washington saying Tehran is attacking vessels and Iran claiming the US is interfering with its control of the waterway.

The same US official cast Iran’s attacks on vessels in the strait as acts of terrorism and Tehran’s actions as failing to meet the interim deal’s performance-based conditions. The US says Iran can only get funds held in various countries unfrozen if it meets the terms of the memorandum of understanding.

Iran has not claimed this week’s strikes on ships, including Saudi and Qatar energy tankers.

The US military said Iran doesn’t control Hormuz, citing that it’s helped the transit of more than 800 commercial vessels and 380 million barrels of crude oil through the strait since early May.

Iran is insisting that ships going through the waterway seek its permission and has said it will set up a permanent management system that may involve vessels paying fees. The US and many other world powers say that’s unacceptable and that ships must have free passage.

Beyond Hormuz, the US-Iran talks are meant to resolve long-standing and highly-complicated issues regarding the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program. Trump, fearing Iran will build a atomic bomb, wants a moratorium on Iran enriching uranium for more than a decade. He also wants Tehran to relinquish its existing stocks of near-bomb grade uranium.

(Updates with Iran comments and mediator outreach from the 5th paragraph.)

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

The country pumped 4.1 million barrels a day on average in June, the International Energy Agency said in its monthly report. That surpasses the peak daily output 4 million a day in 2020 when it had boosted supply during a brief price war over OPEC+ policy, and follows its exit from the group earlier this year.

The UAE’s bold tactics since the war began are becoming increasingly apparent, from using its own large fleet to hiring extra ships controlled by Sinokor Group, a South Korean firm that now runs the world’s largest fleet of oil supertankers. Many of the vessels have operated “dark,” with their digital transponders turned off to get barrels out of the Persian Gulf unseen. 

The vigorous recovery, most of which came before a spate of attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz this week, underlines the country’s unshackling from limits set by the Organization of the the Petroleum Exporting Countries. Oil traders have been keeping close watch on how high the UAE might take it supply after it left the producer group at the end of April.

The country had already restored its exports to pre-war levels last month, according to tanker tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. Saudi Arabia, the biggest producer in the region, was also getting close as it resumed shipments from the key Ras Tanura terminal inside the Persian Gulf.

The rebounding flows, along with the precarious peace agreement between Washington and Tehran that had allowed a surge of tankers to pass through Hormuz, had helped flip world markets from tightness to signs of oversupply in key regions and erased the war-time rally in crude prices. 

The recovery picture was muddied on Wednesday, however, when President Donald Trump declared the ceasefire effectively void after the two sides traded hostilities in the region. US forces struck sites in Iran for two consecutive days, and Tehran fired upon Bahrain and Kuwait. Brent futures topped $80 a barrel earlier this week, but eased to near $76 a barrel on Friday.

The Gulf’s other major producers also increased output last month, though fell short of pre-war levels, according to the IEA. Saudi Arabia pumped 7.3 million barrels a day in June, 900,000 a day higher that the previous month. Kuwait’s increased to 1.4 million barrels a day on average and Iraq’s to 2 million a day.   

Even as crude flows have risen, refinery activity in the Gulf has been more sluggish to respond, with product exports still less than half the levels prior to the conflict, the IEA said.

(Updates with OPEC context in the fourth paragraph.)

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

The system ultimately held. But fresh analysis shows the grid’s frequency remained below its normal operating level for almost 26 minutes — the longest such stretch on record, according to energy data provider Montel — leaving the system with less margin for error if another problem had occurred.

The findings come as Britain’s grid faces political scrutiny. Shadow Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho has accused the National Energy System Operator of withholding information and risking blackouts, citing whistleblowers who contacted her about actions taken on June 23. While Coutinho hasn’t provided evidence for the claims, and NESO denies wrongdoing, the dispute has drawn renewed attention to the resilience of the UK’s grid.

The episode underscores a broader challenge facing Europe. As heat waves grow hotter, longer and more frequent, electricity demand is becoming less predictable just as power systems rely increasingly on weather-dependent renewable generation. That’s leaving grid operators with limited flexibility when conditions don’t cooperate.

In recent weeks, NESO has issued three warnings asking for additional electricity supplies to maintain a sufficient operating reserve. While all of the warnings were ultimately resolved without incident, including one this week, they’re emblematic of the extra measures needed to keep society functioning as normal when extraordinary heat becomes routine. 

Such measures are typically associated with winter, when heating demand peaks. But as extreme temperatures drive up electricity use across Europe, summer is emerging as an increasingly risky season for the region’s power system.

“When I was a trader, we were always saying summer is boring,” said Noemie Baud, an analyst at Montel and former senior intraday power trader at Convex Energy. “This is not the case anymore. Summers are as interesting, if not more, than the winters.”

Emergency Measures

Weather conditions were particularly difficult on June 23. The UK, like much of Western Europe, was in the midst of a scorching heat wave. Schools were forced to shut, and the authorities issued a red alert for much of the country, warning that the heat could disrupt energy and travel — and might even turn deadly.

Around midday, the UK generated over 13 gigawatts of solar power, with the renewable source supplying more than a third of electricity to Britain’s transmission network, according to grid data. But by evening, that generation faded. With little wind, the UK was forced to ramp up gas-fired power plants to their highest level since March to fill the gap.

Signs of trouble soon surfaced. Around 6 p.m., the grid’s system frequency started to fall sharply. The metric, which must remain close to 50 hertz to keep the power system stable, is legally required to stay between 49.5 and 50.5 hertz. In practice, however, it rarely strays outside a much narrower range of 49.8 to 50.2 hertz, according to NESO.

Around 8 p.m., the frequency fell to as low as 49.656 hertz.

The following day, power traders dissected what had happened at a weekly industry forum. NESO representatives pointed to a confluence of unfavorable conditions: Electricity demand had been exceptionally high, transmission constraints forced the grid to curtail some wind generation, and wind output was weaker than forecast, further tightening supplies.

At that point, the UK grid operator took emergency action. It halted exports over the BritNed power cable linking Britain and the Netherlands, according to NESO’s responses to questions from traders. NESO also asked the French grid operator for assistance. While it didn’t specify the action it took, grid data show exports stopped around the same time.

These measures stabilized the system, and ultimately, the UK had other options at its disposal if needed: Britain was still able to export electricity to Denmark and Belgium during the heat wave, flows it could have curtailed if conditions had deteriorated further.

Even so, the grid was “looking riskier than usual,” said Montel’s Baud. “They were not in a comfortable situation,” she said. “I can’t say how close it was to a blackout.” 

In the days since June 23, NESO has emphasized that no customers lost power and that the electricity system “remained secure.” But the episode was serious enough for the grid operator to launch a detailed review to prepare for the next inevitable moment of stress.

“We will continue our analysis of operational data and implement any lessons learned,” a spokesperson for NESO said in an emailed statement.

(Updates fifth paragraph with resolution of NESO warnings.)

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

Brent traded above $76 a barrel after losing more than 2% on Thursday, while West Texas Intermediate was near $72. Technical talks between the two sides are continuing, according to a US official, who said Washington was still committed to finding a solution. The status of an earlier truce remained unclear after President Donald Trump said the deal was over.

Following a spate of attacks on vessels in Hormuz, US forces hit targets in the Islamic Republic over two days this week, prompting retaliatory strikes by Tehran on American bases in the region. Still, the two sides have stopped short of a return to all-out war, and some stipulations of their interim deal — which has not yet been formally scrapped — are still being observed.

Oil remains higher for the week, with observed transits through Hormuz reduced substantially by the hostilities. Traders will be monitoring output and sales from Persian Gulf producers including Saudi Arabia, which is due to issue monthly allocations to customers shortly. In addition, they’ll scour a monthly report from the International Energy Agency later Friday for insights.

“The market appears to be viewing the latest US-Iran tensions as a challenge to the ceasefire process rather than a complete collapse,” said Warren Patterson, head of commodities strategy for ING Groep NV in Singapore. “Reports of continued talks between Washington and Tehran are also helping to reassure the market that diplomacy remains the preferred path.”

Traffic in Hormuz appeared to have ground to a near halt on Thursday, and remained thin on Friday, according to tracking data. No large commodity ships were seen transiting, although an empty, Greek-owned supertanker re-emerged inside the gulf after pushing through the chokepoint.

US Central Command said “Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz,” according to a post on X. Since May, American forces helped more than 800 vessels transit the waterway, it added. The conduit links Gulf producers to global markets, and its standing has been one of the major sticking points in the US-Iran war, with Tehran seeking to exercise greater control over traffic.

“While tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has fallen in recent days, it remains above pre-MoU levels, which will provide some comfort to the market,” said Patterson, referring to the memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran that was agreed in June.

The IEA, the adviser to major economies, is due to issue its monthly deep-dive report into market conditions at 10 a.m. in Paris. Last month, it warned that the Iran war’s impact on oil demand would be much deeper than it previously anticipated, while also flagging a renewed glut next year.

Crude’s bumpy week is reflected in shifts in Brent’s prompt spread, which tracks the difference between its two nearest contracts. On Monday, the widely-followed metric was 25 cents a barrel in contango, a bearish pattern; in the midweek session, it flipped to 45 cents in backwardation, the opposite arrangement; and on Friday it was essentially level.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

The company emitted 20 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2025, up from 16 million metric tons the prior year, Microsoft said Thursday in its annual sustainability report. The increase was driven by new construction of data centers and a previously announced pause in the purchase of some renewable energy credits, Microsoft said. 

“While AI infrastructure is driving demand for energy, water, land and materials, sustainability solutions are not scaling fast enough to meet demand,” Microsoft President Brad Smith and Chief Sustainability Officer Melanie Nakagawa wrote in the report. “This tension is real, and it is also productive.”

The software company pledged six years ago to pull more carbon from the atmosphere than it was emitting by 2030, a goal made feasible thanks to increasingly efficient data centers and surging investment in renewable power and technologies designed to sequester carbon.

But the company’s green ambitions ran headlong into its commercial aims. Determined to become a major player in the artificial intelligence age, Microsoft helped spark a frenzy to build a new class of power-hungry data centers to back AI models, straining electrical grids and pushing utilities to build new fossil-fueled power generation.

In one example, the company in June signed a deal with Chevron Corp. to take power from an enormous natural-gas-fired power plant set to be built in West Texas, and use it to power a new data center complex. 

At the same time, the company reassessed efforts to offset its emissions, telling sustainability partners that it would pull back from new carbon-banking deals. Executives also weighed shelving a target that would have had Microsoft match its hourly data center electricity use with renewables. Other businesses have retreated from their own pledges as the US federal government rolled back environmental standards and sought to curb sustainability initiatives. 

Microsoft said its emissions would have been lower but for a decision last year to halt its purchase of a type of carbon credit that is controversial in environmental circles because it doesn’t directly incentivize new carbon-free energy. 

Smith and Nakagawa said the company wants to be “more precise” about what sustainability requires and more willing to refine its strategies “as conditions change, data improves and trade-offs become clearer. It does not mean we are lowering our ambition.” 

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

Two marine war insurance brokers and two underwriters said they have seen fewer requests for quotes since a ceasefire in the Middle East all but broke down this week. While the evidence is anecdotal so far, it points to a renewed caution in the industry. 

So far on Thursday, visible shipping traffic through Hormuz had virtually ground to a halt, with few observable journeys taking place. Some shipowners who had recently transited the waterway said a day earlier that they were reconsidering returning. Another canceled a plan to do so. 

However, the true picture of transits is muddied by the fact a number of vessels have been crossing the waterway with their transponders turned off even before the interim peace deal between Washington and Tehran had fallen into place. 

Despite the drop-off in requests for cover, brokers and underwriters said that some owners were still showing an interest in making the journey.

“I think that it would be fair to say that the requests for quotes has dropped off given a reluctance to commit to transits, although we are still receiving inquiries and terms are available,” said Simon Lockwood, head of shipowners, Marine GB, at broker Willis Towers Watson Plc. 

The cost of cover has remained high throughout and hasn’t increased much since the peace deal has frayed, Lockwood said. However, other brokers have seen premiums inch higher. 

Marcus Baker, global head of marine at Marsh, the world’s largest broker, said that rates have risen to anywhere between 2% and 6% of the value of a vessel from a fraction of a percent in pre-conflict times. At the higher end of that range, it would cost $6 million to insure an oil tanker worth $100 million while transiting Hormuz, although owners often receive large no-claim discounts that can reduce headline rates. 

At the height of the conflict some ships were being charged as much as 10% of their value to transit, but before the recent attacks rates had started to drift below 2%, brokers had said at the time. 

“This roller coaster is unlikely to abate until a true and lasting ceasefire is maintained,” Baker said.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

Longi Green Energy Technology Co.’s facility in Shaanxi province is now operational, marking “a key milestone in the large-scale implementation of its next-generation cell technology,” the company said in a statement on Thursday.

The move follows a spike in silver prices to a record above $121 an ounce in January, nearly triple their level of a year earlier, on a confluence of bullish factors. As one of the world’s largest consumers of the metal, accounting for 17% of global demand last year, the solar industry has been racing to cut costs by turning to alternatives.

Copper, like silver, is prized for its conductivity. And while silver has now retreated below $60 an ounce, the red metal, which has even wider applications in the energy transition, has forged its own all-time highs, climbing above $14,000 a ton in May. 

As well as bullish forecasts for demand, the copper market is reacting to a shortage of ore worldwide, highlighting the potential pitfalls of switching materials when prices are so volatile.

Longi said it was able to get its new plant up and running within three months and that the Alloy Contact Matrix cells it produces are more efficient.

But the launch of the new facility still represents an expansion in a sector already struggling with persistent overcapacity and heavy losses. The industry’s efforts to curb excess supply have had only a limited effect, and authorities recently imposed tighter product standards in a bid to improve energy use and efficiency. 

On the Wire

China’s reflationary momentum showed signs of stalling in June, a reminder that the outlook for domestic prices is fragile as the economy emerges from deflation after an easing of tensions over Iran led to a pullback in commodity costs.

China’s central bank acknowledged the economy is becoming more unbalanced as the boom in artificial intelligence deepens a divide in growth between sectors, though it largely reiterated its existing policy stance.

China’s export-driven industrial momentum likely failed to offset weak domestic demand in the second quarter, said Bloomberg Economics, which sees GDP growth slipping below the low end of its 4.5%–5.0% target for 2026.

China purchased the largest amount of US soybeans since November, extending a wave of buying as agricultural trade between the world’s two largest economies gathers pace.

This Week’s Diary

(All times Beijing)

Thursday, July 9

• China’s inflation data for June, 09:30
• China to release June aggregate finance & money supply data by July 15
• Asia Climate Summit in HK, day 3
• Shanghai Platinum Week in Suzhou

Friday, July 10

• China’s weekly iron ore port stockpiles
• SHFE’s weekly commodities inventory, ~15:30
• China’s monthly CASDE crop supply-demand report
• Shanghai Platinum Week in Suzhou

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

Gulf crude production in June was still about 10.5 million barrels a day below pre-war levels, according to Goldman estimates. “While Middle Eastern producers have started reopening their shut-in wells over the last month, Hormuz disruptions could slow down the production recovery,” analysts including Yulia Zhetkova Grigsby said in a July 8 note.

The global energy market has been jolted this week by a resurgence in the conflict between Washington and Tehran, pushing Brent crude futures briefly back above $80 a barrel. Ship traffic through the strait has almost halted after US and Iran traded attacks for a second day, testing a fragile peace deal, which followed a spate of strikes on shipping in the waterway.

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the interim peace deal between Washington and Tehran was over, while the US also revoked a waiver allowing Iranian oil sales. Still, negotiations with Iran may continue, he added.

“The recent attacks on tankers highlight still elevated risks of crossing, and shippers may hesitate to cross under the currently unclear ceasefire status, weighing on near-term Hormuz flows,” the analysts said.

Goldman estimates that oil flows through the Gulf have already retreated closer to 70% of normal following the recent attacks on tankers, after having recovered earlier to more than 80% of pre-war flows within the first 10 days after the reopening of Hormuz.

At present, the risks for Gulf flows and prices are two-sided, it said. Shipments are expected to recover by the end of July if the 60-day negotiations continued, along with security reassurances for shippers and a fresh waiver for Tehran’s crude sales, but may drop further if the negotiations fail and attacks on tankers escalate.

Last month, Goldman Sachs was among banks reducing its forecasts for oil prices as flows through Hormuz picked up. Its analysts have also warned of the potential for a crude glut to reappear.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

The agreement was announced during the visit of H.E. Dr Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, ADNOC Managing Director and Group CEO, and Executive Chairman of XRG, to Japan, where he is leading a delegation for meetings with senior government officials and business leaders aimed at deepening bilateral energy cooperation.

The deal is the first long-term LNG supply agreement announced since ADNOC and XRG launched their integrated global LNG marketing and trading platform earlier this week. 

Growing bilateral ties

The agreement also reinforces the strategic relationship between ADNOC and INPEX, which has been an upstream partner in Abu Dhabi for decades through participating interests in several offshore and onshore concessions. The supply deal supports INPEX Vision 2035, under which the Japanese company aims to expand and diversify its LNG portfolio to provide customers with greater supply flexibility.

The LNG will be sourced primarily from the Ruwais LNG project, currently under development in Al Ruwais Industrial City in Abu Dhabi. Commercial operations are expected to begin in 2028.

The project is a key component of ADNOC’s global LNG growth strategy. To date, around 90% of the facility’s planned 9.6 mtpa production capacity has already been committed to international customers through long-term agreements across Asia and Europe, underlining strong market demand for the project’s future output.

Once operational, the Ruwais LNG plant will become the first LNG export facility in the Middle East and Africa to operate using clean power. 

ADNOC said the plant will be among the world’s lowest-carbon intensity LNG facilities, using AI and advanced digital technologies to improve operational efficiency, enhance safety, and reduce emissions.

The project consists of two liquefaction trains, each with a capacity of 4.8 mtpa, giving a combined production capacity of 9.6 mtpa.

“This SPA with INPEX marks the first long-term LNG agreement announced following the launch of ADNOC and XRG’s integrated global LNG marketing and trading platform, demonstrating how we are bringing more LNG molecules, greater market access and enhanced commercial flexibility to our customers,” said Nasser Al Muhairi, Acting CEO of ADNOC Downstream Industry, Marketing & Trading and Chairman of Ruwais LNG.

He said the agreement builds on ADNOC’s decades-long energy relationship with Japan while advancing the commercialisation of the Ruwais LNG project.

“As ADNOC and XRG target 47 mtpa of combined marketable LNG by 2035, Ruwais LNG will be a key source of reliable, flexible and lower-carbon supply for customers in Asia and around the world,” Al Muhairi added.

ADNOC Gas announced in November 2024 that it expects to acquire ADNOC’s 60% stake in the Ruwais LNG project at cost, estimated at approximately $5 billion, in 2028. 

Upon completion, the acquisition would more than double ADNOC Gas’ operated LNG production capacity to around 15 mtpa. 

Two oil tankers made their way into the Persian Gulf through Hormuz overnight using a route close to Oman’s coastline, while another headed out by sailing close to Iran. A third ship carrying about two million barrels of crude u-turned midway through a transit along the waterway and re-entered the Persian Gulf. Visible liquefied natural gas traffic has largely ground to a halt.

Global financial markets have a renewed focus on energy flows through Hormuz after President Trump said earlier on Wednesday that he considers the US’s ceasefire deal with Iran to be over. Before the Iran war, about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas transited Hormuz. Western navies said on Tuesday they expected traffic volumes to drop in the coming days after recent Iranian attacks.

Tracking shipments through the strait is complicated by the fact many vessels are crossing in convoys for security purposes, meaning flows can be lumpy. Millions of barrels a day of oil were also crossing on ships with their satellite signals switched off prior to the deal, another factor muddying the true level of traffic. 

Several tankers were seen beginning or completing Hormuz crossings just hours after three vessels came under attack on Tuesday — the largest number of incidents since an interim US-Iran peace deal came into effect last month. 

Those incidents included attacks on a Saudi supertanker, a Qatari LNG carrier and a ship owned by Sinokor Group, the world’s largest owner of very large crude carriers. It was unclear how the attacks had impacted each company’s approach to Hormuz. 

The US subsequently conducted airstrikes on Iran, in retaliation for the attacks, and scrapped a waiver that had temporarily allowed the sale of Iranian crude. 

“Shipping is considering the latest developments,” said Martin Kelly, head of advisory at EOS Risk Group. “Ships are turning around or opting to use the PGSA route,” he said, referring to the path operated by Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority.

In the strait, the prospect of fresh strikes could set back a revival of traffic. Already, shipowners are increasingly having to weigh not only whether to cross, but which route to choose, for fear of angering one side or the other.

A corridor that hugs the Omani coast is supported by the US military, but has increasingly come under attack by Iran as it continues to assert its dominance of the waterway. Tehran said at the UN’s shipping body that it has the right to control parts of Hormuz.

The other option is a path that goes closer to Iran’s coast, which requires the country’s approval. That exposes those who use it to compliance and sanctions risks.

U-turns have become increasingly common as shipowners grapple with a changing situation and fluctuating Iranian demands, with some resuming their journeys along the Tehran-approved route. The Lila Vadinar, which U-turned in Hormuz on Wednesday, had entered the Persian Gulf late June and picked up a cargo of Kuwaiti crude, before attempting to leave earlier in the day. 

“The Hormuz reopening story looks more fragile,” Clarksons Securities analysts including Frode Morkedal said in a note. “We do not see a full closure of the Strait as the base case, as both sides have incentives to avoid a broader oil shock and keep the wider framework alive.” 

(Updates throughout with details of latest developments and vessels’ movements.)

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

The world may have as much as 535 gigawatts of installed nuclear power by 2036, up from 372 last year, according to a report Wednesday from BloombergNEF. China had 59 gigawatts of reactors under construction at the end of 2025 and is on track to reach a total of 102 by the end of the decade, a figure that would propel it past the US to become the world’s biggest nuclear nation.

The industry is benefiting from several key trends. The international effort to rein in climate change is boosting demand for carbon-free power from reactors. At the same time, electricity demand is surging, driven by industrial users, increasingly electrified homes, and power-hungry data centers. Meanwhile, rising social acceptance of nuclear power is pushing utilities and governments around the world to reconsider policies that have hindered development. 

Capacity growth will likely be tempered by slow regulatory processes that have historically dragged on new nuclear projects. In the US, where the technology is getting strong support from the Trump administration, there’s only one commercial plant under construction, though BNEF expects the pace to accelerate in the coming decade.

“Nuclear power has essentially been ‘running in place’ since the Fukushima disaster in 2011,” according to the report. “This status quo is set to change.”

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

In its latest quarterly update published on Tuesday, the energy major said production from its Integrated Gas business is now expected to reach between 610,000 and 650,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed) during the April-to-June period. This is up from previous guidance of 580,000 to 640,000 boed. Shell’s output was 909,000 boed in Q1 2026. 

The revised outlook comes after Shell continues to manage the aftermath of reduced volumes from Qatar following the regional conflict. Shell's forecast is in line with its LNG Outlook 2026 report, which found that global LNG demand would rise by 65% to nearly 700 million tonnes a year by 2050. 

Increasing production

The company also increased its forecast for LNG liquefaction volumes to between 7.4 million and 7.8 million tonnes, compared with earlier guidance of 6.8 million to 7.4 million tonnes, reflecting stronger operational performance across its LNG portfolio.

Shell said trading results within its Integrated Gas division are expected to be “significantly higher” than in the first quarter, highlighting how increased volatility across global energy markets has boosted returns from its trading business. 

Meanwhile, trading in its Chemicals and Products division is expected to remain in line with the previous quarter’s performance.

Citi raised its second-quarter earnings-per-share forecast for the company by 13%, citing stronger trading performance alongside resilient chemicals and fuels marketing operations. 

Shell shares rose more than 3% following the update, outperforming the broader European energy sector.

Commodity prices also provided a supportive backdrop during the quarter. 

Brent crude averaged around $97 per barrel during the period, compared with $78 in the first quarter, while Europe’s benchmark Dutch TTF natural gas contract averaged about €46 per megawatt-hour, up from approximately €40 per MWh in the previous quarter.

Shell expects improvements in the second quarter, forecasting a working capital inflow between $1 billion and 6 billion following an $11.2 billion outflow in the first quarter, reflecting extreme commodity price volatility.

Market challenges remain

The company also forecast higher indicative refining margins of over $20 per barrel and chemicals margins of around $240 per tonne, but noted that actual margins are projected to be lower due to continued market disruptions.

Despite the improved outlook, Shell continues to face operational issues in the region. 

Production at its Pearl gas-to-liquids facility in Qatar remains partially offline after an attack on Ras Laffan Industrial City damaged one of the plant’s two processing trains earlier this year. The company has previously said repairs could take around a year.

While geopolitical tensions continue to create operational risks, the Middle East remains a strategically important region for Shell, accounting for around 550,000 boed, or 20% of its global oil and gas production. Of this, 10% is linked to Qatar. 

The company has been among major energy firms like bp and TotalEnergies that have benefitted from sharp swings in crude oil and natural gas prices after the conflict involving Iran disrupted regional energy markets. 

Shell’s full outlook is expected to be published on 30 July. 

The platform brings together the marketing activities of ADNOC Gas and international investment company XRG with the trading capabilities of ADNOC Trading. 

The integrated commercial platform is designed to optimise the group’s growing LNG portfolio, improve shipping flexibility, and provide customers with greater access to supply. 

It will aid ADNOC Gas’s expanding production base, including volumes from the Ruwais LNG project, and support XRG’s international gas and infrastructure investments.

Growing global ambitions

ADNOC said the platform is targeting 47 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of combined marketable LNG by 2035, a level that would place it among the world’s leading LNG suppliers. 

The move also reinforces Abu Dhabi’s ambition to establish itself as a major global energy trading hub alongside established centres in Europe, Asia, and North America.

The launch comes as global LNG demand continues to rise, and is expected to reach almost 700 mtpa by 2050. Global LNG trade reached approximately 422 million tonnes in 2025.

“With LNG demand set to grow substantially, the world will need reliable, responsible and trusted suppliers at scale,” said H.E. Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Managing Director and Group CEO of ADNOC and Executive Chairman of XRG.

“This world-class, integrated commercial LNG platform brings together the full strength of ADNOC’s marketing, trading and shipping capabilities to create a single global hub in Abu Dhabi. It marks a step-change in scale, flexibility and optionality of our LNG marketing and trading platform and will further position ADNOC to meet the world’s growing demand for energy.”

Future supply will be strengthened by the Ruwais LNG project, which is expected to significantly expand the country’s export capacity.

The launch also complements XRG’s broader international gas strategy. The company has expanded its LNG footprint through investments across global supply chains, including upstream gas assets in Argentina and plans to increase exposure to the US natural gas market. 

The Al Rekayyat gas carrier was struck in the early hours of Tuesday, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue. Separately, a person familiar with the matter said that a Saudi crude oil tanker was damaged while leaving Hormuz, without providing further details, while a UK naval group issued a report of a third attack.

The crew of the Qatari gas carrier have abandoned ship, one person familiar with the matter said. It is anchored southeast of Limah, Oman, according to Pakistan’s Hydrographic service, which monitors shipping in the area.

Three separate attacks on ships would mark the highest number since the US and Iran signed an interim peace deal last month, underscoring the continued risks to ships crossing through Hormuz. Tehran has repeatedly said it won’t allow vessels to transit the waterway without its permission. Meanwhile, the US has continued to manage a shipping corridor along the Omani side of the strait, keeping ships away from Iranian waters.

A handful of ships transited Hormuz using both the Iranian and Omani routes on Tuesday. Oil prices rose as much as 3%, while European gas futures added as much as 6%. 

The Qatari vessel, owned by the nation’s state-owned shipping company Nakilat, is the first LNG tanker from the country to come under attack since the war began, and marks a significant setback for its efforts to revive exports after months of near-paralysis.

The incident comes at a delicate moment for diplomacy, with Qatar serving as a key intermediary in negotiations between the US and Iran over ending the conflict. Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman said Iran should cease all practices that harm regional security.

Any attacks involving Saudi oil tankers would also raise concerns in oil markets. While the kingdom can export some crude via its Red Sea terminal at Yanbu, it still relies on Hormuz to fully restore flows to normal levels. Saudi ships have been among the slowest in Gulf nations to return to the waterway. Exports have remained uneven, occasionally nearing pre-war levels. 

The Saudi and Qatari vessels were transiting Hormuz without their transponders on, ship-tracking data show, a common measure to avoid attracting attention. 

QatarEnergy, Nakilat, Saudi tanker giant Bahri and the Saudi Energy Ministry didn’t respond to requests for comment.

The strike has already raised fresh concerns among shipowners. Al Areesh, another LNG tanker that loaded in Qatar and was headed out of the Gulf, appeared to turn before the strait on Tuesday before sailing in circles, according to shipping data. It had been signaling Pakistan’s Port Qasim as its destination.

Other traffic continued to flow, however. At least two Japan-linked supertankers were sailing through the strait on the Iran-approved route, together with a China-bound liquefied petroleum gas carrier. To the south, a convoy of at least six ships, including three very large crude carriers, appears to be approaching the Omani coastline on the way out of the Gulf.

Hormuz has been a focal point for all sides since the US and Israel began strikes on Iran in late February, as shipowners assess the safety of the crossing in order to dispatch vessels in and out of the Gulf. Even after an interim peace deal signed last month, Tehran continues to seek to assert its dominance over the thoroughfare.

Traffic has improved since the agreement, but continues to face challenges and interruptions, as Iran periodically blocks transits on routes it has not approved, or attacks vessels. On Monday, a group of Japan-linked ships appeared to have transited the strait by hewing to an Iran-approved route. 

Still, there is as yet little clarity over a permanent solution to manage the chokepoint amid talks aimed at achieving a lasting peace.

The Iran-approved corridor along the north side of the strait has seen two-thirds of all transits in recent days, according to data from intelligence firm Kpler Ltd., with the rest crossing along the US-managed Oman route.

Out of the 25 ships that transited Hormuz on Monday alone, only three did so on the Omani side with their transponders on, the data show — despite an update from regional naval forces reminding shipowners that the US-managed Oman route remained available for use. 

“The continued use of different shipping lanes suggests that traffic through the strait remains operational, but is fragmented as shipowners adopt different routing strategies based on their individual risk assessments,” said Muyu Xu, senior crude oil analyst at Kpler.

The attack came as President Donald Trump headed to a NATO leaders’ summit in Ankara, Turkey. The US war with Iran is expected to be a major topic of discussion, with Trump having expressed anger at several members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization for not doing more to help the US against the Islamic Republic.

Talks between the US and Iran were suspended as Tehran began a mass funeral for the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed on the first day of the war in late February. Qatar said the next meeting would be scheduled as soon as possible after the funeral ceremonies. Khamenei is scheduled to be buried in his hometown of Mashhad on July 9. 

(Updates with status of Qatari ship from second paragraph.)

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

The Series B funding, led by Prelude Ventures, will help the company scale its first commercial initiative, a 250-megawatt plant being built south of Oregon’s Newberry Volcano, Quaise said Tuesday. Capitalizing on the need for continuous carbon-free power for data centers, Quaise has already signed up a hyperscaler customer for the project’s first 50 megawatts, said Chief Executive Officer Carlos Araque. He declined to identify the customer.

For decades, geothermal was viewed as an expensive and hard-to-access energy source. But technological breakthroughs combined with a surge of AI-driven interest has resulted in the energy source experiencing a bit of a renaissance in recent years. In May, geothermal developer Fervo Energy Co. attracted almost $1.9 billion in a US initial public offering that priced above the marketed range, signaling renewed interest in a previously forgotten sector.

Araque said demand for reliable, always-available clean power has never been stronger, adding that Fervo’s IPO has boosted investor interest in the sector. But, he said, the electricity is still costly. “We can do a lot better than this.”

Houston-based Quaise has said it aims to lower geothermal costs by using a proprietary millimeter-wave drilling technology to access more energy with fewer wells by drilling deeper for hotter rocks. At greater depths, Quaise would replace a drill bit with an energy beam, essentially using microwaves to vaporize rock. The process is designed to reduce the downtime required for switching drill bits and the cost involved in replacing bits, making geothermal a more cost-competitive energy source.

To reach desired temperatures of 300C (572F) to 500C, Quaise will have to drill deeper than Fervo and other enhanced geothermal systems. So far, the company has reached depths of 500 meters at its site in Marble Falls, Texas, and it’s targeting 1,000 meters by the third quarter and 5,000 meters by the end of 2027. At the same time, Quaise plans to complete the first flow test at its commercial site in Oregon by the end of the year, a key step toward attracting money to finance the project.

The funds will cover the company’s program through the end of 2027, at which point it will pursue a Series C funding, Araque said. After that, it plans to follow the Fervo playbook and enter the public market, barring an acquisition or merger, he said.

Founded in 2018, Quaise is one of a number of companies attempting superhot rock geothermal. Competitors include Mazama Energy, which also is operating near Newberry Volcano.

(Adds information about company’s history in final paragraph. An earlier version corrected amount of fundraising and the drilling depth.)

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

That demand destruction has been evident in Asia in the first half, with consumers using less or switching to alternative fuels, while Europe also saw stronger renewables output, the IEA said in a quarterly report published Tuesday. Together with lower gas usage in the Middle East, that should push global demand down 0.5% this year, even as consumption rises in some regions. 

The Middle East conflict effectively cut off about a fifth of global liquefied natural gas supply, with key gas price benchmarks in Europe and Asia up between roughly 40% and 70% since the war began. Importers in places including India, Bangladesh and Vietnam — which previously expected to raise demand — have had to rethink their longer-term gas strategies and look for alternatives. 

“A prolonged supply shock would continue to progressively tighten the global LNG balance, heightening competition for cargoes and extending the prospect of weaker imports across both the Atlantic and Pacific basins,” the IEA said.

While traffic through the vital Strait of Hormuz improved since the US and Iran struck an interim peace deal last month, there’s still little clarity over a lasting solution to manage the chokepoint. Fresh attacks on shipping in and around the strait have also tested the truce and highlighted the continued risks to vessels.

Strong growth in new LNG supply, including in the US, partially offset the decline in Gulf deliveries through June, but any delays in the recovery of Middle Eastern exports could tip the global market into the first annual drop in supply since 2012, the IEA said. Otherwise, global LNG supply should remain steady this year, compared with previously expected growth.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

XTX Ventures, the investment arm from Alex Gerko’s algorithmic trading firm XTX Markets Ltd, led the financing round with London-based firm East X Ventures. The deal gives the three year-old energy firm a valuation of €2.4 billion, Proxima Fusion said on Tuesday. 

It’s a key part of the company’s plans to build an energy facility on a decommissioned RWE nuclear power site in Bavaria. In February, Proxima Fusion announced that the demonstrator for this plant, called Alpha, would cost €2 billion, with the company pledging to cover a fifth of the costs and the federal state of Bavaria committing a similar amount.

Francesco Sciortino, Proxima Fusion’s chief executive, said his Munich-based startup expects the remainder of the funds to come from Germany’s federal government and the European Union. “We’ve done what we promised to do,” he said in an interview. “Obviously, we think this a historic opportunity for Germany, for Europe.”

Germany turned against nuclear power following the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan, shutting down the final German reactors by 2023. Nuclear fusion, which promises to harness the same process that powers the sun to offer abundant, emissions-free electricity, remains an experimental technology. There are currently no commercial fusion plants.

Yet the field is drawing increased interest as tech companies scour the globe for future sources to power data centers. In 2025, Google agreed to purchase 200 megawatts of power from Commonwealth Fusion Systems, an American company developing fusion energy that Google has backed. 

The internet giant joined as a strategic investor in Proxima Fusion, but the companies don’t have any set plans around data centers, according to Sciortino. He declined to say how much Google invested. RWE invested €25 million, the company said in a press release on Tuesday.

Sciortino said around €150 million of the newest financing round came from its two investment leads, while existing investors added a similar amount. 

Proxima Fusion last raised funds in 2025, in a €130 million round, and said it has secured more than €650 million to date, including €95 million in public grants. KfW Capital, an investment division of Germany’s state bank, and the European Union’s EIC Fund also contributed to the new financing round. Proxima Fusion said more than 90% of its investors are European.

Its technology is centered on a device called a stellarator, a twisted donut-shaped chamber that uses powerful magnets to contain the super hot gas, or plasma, designed to create nuclear reactions. Sciortino called the approach more stable than others, such as the large tokamak design or newer methods using lasers.

With its latest funding round, Proxima Fusion — which has offices in Munich, Zurich and Oxford — describes itself as the “best-funded” nuclear fusion company in Europe. However, it has less capital than US competitors, including Commonwealth, which has raised almost $3 billion from investors, and Helion Energy Inc, a startup backed by Sam Altman. 

But Sciortino argued that these rivals were formed years before his. “We are faster than anyone else,” he said. “And Europeans should celebrate that for once.” 

(Added RWE’s investment in seventh paragraph)

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

Brent rose toward $73 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was near $69. A  tanker traveling south reported being hit about 8 nautical miles east of Limah, Oman, causing a fire, UK Maritime Trade Operations said. The vessel was Al Rekayyat, a natural gas carrier, according to people familiar with the matter.

Separately, Axios reported Iran fired at least two missiles at commercial ships transiting the strait, citing a US official. Two vessels were hit and suffered damage, but no casualties were reported, it said.

The strait — which links Gulf producers to global markets — has partially reopened following its near-total closure triggered by the US-Iran war, with a convoy of at least eight Japan-linked ships among recent transits. Still, while traffic is recovering, movements remain below pre-conflict levels.

Oil sank 30% in the second quarter as Washington and Tehran agreed to an interim peace deal, easing concerns over supply disruptions from the Middle East. Global benchmark Brent has fully erased the war premium that had built up in recent months, with some leading banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley now warning there’s a risk a glut will return.

“The latest vessel attacks in the Persian Gulf highlight that we are still far away from normalization,” said Warren Patterson, head of commodities strategy for ING Groep NV in Singapore. “A contained response from the US may offer some short term support to oil, but given the bearish sentiment and weakness in the physical market, any bounce will likely be short-lived.”

On Monday, Saudi Aramco said it will lower Arab Light to Asia for next month by $11 a barrel to $1.50 below a benchmark. The last two times it sold the grade at a discount were during price wars in 2020 and 2015.

The move by Riyadh follows a decision at the weekend by OPEC+ members including Saudi Arabia to raise output quotas for next month, adding to the prospect of more supply. While those extra barrels remain theoretical, the decision signals a desire to raise production as conditions normalize.

The attacks “reminds investors that the Middle East de-escalation trade is still fragile,” said Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo Markets. “The market may add back a little bit of the Hormuz risk premium, but doesn’t look like we are pricing in a full disruption yet.”

Even so, the broader backdrop remains less supportive, Chanana added. OPEC+ is continuing to raise output, gulf supplies are recovering, and the Brent-Dubai market structure has shifted into contango, she said, referring to a bearish pattern that signals a looser near-term physical market.

Further insight into market conditions will come later Tuesday when the US Energy Information Administration issues its Short-Term Energy Outlook. Last month, the agency raised its 2027 forecast for US crude production by 220,000 barrels a day to 13.83 million after prices had rallied amid the war.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

The 3,300-kilometer (2,051-mile) route, called the Northern Shield Energy Corridor, would connect the Alberta oil-storage hub of Hardisty with the central Canadian refining center of Sarnia, Ontario, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Ontario Premier Doug Ford told reporters Monday. 

The proposed pipeline would carry about 500,000 barrels of oil a day for domestic use and export markets, and could expand to 800,000 barrels a day. Ontario will also explore creating its own strategic petroleum reserve. 

“By reducing Canadian reliance on oil imports, the Northern Shield pipeline could help stabilize oil prices across the country and strengthen national security,” Ontario and Alberta said in a release.  

The project proposed Monday is similar to the mothballed Energy East oil pipeline floated more than a decade ago but later scrapped. A new cross-Canada oil pipeline would allow Canadian producers to avoid moving crude through the US, as is done on Enbridge Inc.’s Line 5, which crosses the border in Ontario and connects with another line that moves oil to Quebec.

A feasibility study on the Northern Shield proposal is set to be completed by the end of this year, and will explore costs and commercialization options. Ford told reporters that while a private proponent would be welcome, a government-led project can’t be ruled out. 

“I think it’s a great investment, no matter if it’s the government,” he said. “I always prefer looking at the private sector investing.”

Since US President Donald Trump launched a trade war with Canada last year, sending relations to their lowest point in decades, Canadian political leaders including Prime Minister Mark Carney have been looking to diversify exports to other countries and lessen reliance on US infrastructure. Last week, Carney and Smith announced plans to build a new 1 million barrel a day pipeline to Canada’s Pacific coast to boost exports of crude oil to Asian markets. 

The new west coast line will be built by government-owned Trans Mountain Corp., operator of the only existing oil pipeline running from Alberta to a Canadian port on the Pacific.

Ford said the Northern Shield proposal is being discussed with the Major Projects Office, a federal entity that works to provide faster regulatory approvals. 

The proposal is just the latest in a series of new projects announced in the past year that could add more than 2 million barrels a day of capacity to ship crude out of out Western Canada. 

They include Enbridge Inc.’s Mainline expansion, the new Bridger conduit that will run from Alberta to Wyoming, an expansion of the existing Trans Mountain system to add 300,000 barrels of daily capacity.  

The sudden surge of new export conduits has raised questions about whether oil sands producers and their investors have the stomach to boost capital spending to fill the pipes. Oil companies in the region have room to expand, according to Smith, who wants Alberta’s crude output to double. 

“I have absolute confidence that we will be able to do it,” she said during the press conference. “We’ve got to think big and we’ve got to be looking at being one of the top three energy producers and exporters in the world.”

(Adds other pipeline projects in final three paragraphs.)

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

The maximum amount in the tenders for long-term capacity will be raised to €244,000 ($278,480) per megawatt, up from €173,000, according to an amendment from the ruling coalition and seen by Bloomberg. The move follows complaints from some operators that prices for gas turbines and other components have surged significantly.

Europe’s biggest economy — which has phased out nuclear energy and aims to exit coal by 2038 — needs new gas-fired plants as a back-up when wind and solar are not available. 

A spokesperson for the Economy Ministry declined to comment.

The amendment, which was first reported by German media, is the final change to the bill scheduled to be voted in parliament on July 9. The tenders are scheduled for Sept. 8 and Dec. 29, and still need final approval from the European Union. 

The amendment also allows for capacity that’s not been awarded to again be re-auctioned in a battery tender in May 2027.

LEAG — one of the country’s largest power producers and a major operator of conventional power plants — had been particularly skeptical of the previous auction design. It protested, arguing that at those price levels it wasn’t economical to bid in the auctions and reduce its own coal-fired generation.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

SSE Plc, Equinor ASA and Vargronn, the owners of the Dogger Bank Wind Farm off England’s east coast, filed a judicial review claim against the decision in May to allow RWE AG and Masdar to build the Dogger Bank South project, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified as the details aren’t public. The filing was made in late June, one of the people said.

The existing project’s owners previously raised concerns that more turbines in that area could block wind and make ones already there less profitable. It highlights one of the numerous challenges faced by the sector, which has struggled with bigger costs and supply-chain snarls, as it shifts from a frontier technology to key source of power in Europe. For RWE and Masdar, the judicial review raises uncertainty about the future of one of their largest projects.

A spokesperson for Dogger Bank South confirmed that a judicial review challenge against the consent process had been lodged. A spokesperson for RWE said that the new farm’s consent was awarded following a rigorous, transparent examination and that the company remains focused on delivering the project. 

A spokesperson for the Dogger Bank Wind Farm said they can’t comment on a matter before the courts. A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero didn’t comment on the judicial review. 

The existing 3.6-gigawatt Dogger Bank Wind Farm is nearing completion of its first phase. Its owners raised concerns during the consenting process for new projects over the so-called wake effect, where one project essentially serves to block wind from another one nearby. 

‘Wake Effect’

The phenomenon can also been seen even within a single wind farm: The first turbine gets the strongest wind and the best production, while the ones behind it see slightly lower wind speeds. Extrapolated over a project’s lifetime, the loss of wind and revenues can be significant. 

Companies have flagged the potential impact of turbine wakes for years, but the stakes are particularly high right now for farms that require billions of dollars of investment at a time when margins are being squeezed. Last year, German authorities cut the capacity available for leasing by 20% amid concerns about crowded seas.

Under UK law, after a complaint is raised, a judge will decide whether or not to grant permission to proceed with a case. If the case does go ahead, evidence and legal arguments will be made in court and a judge will decide whether or not the government was wrong to grant consent to the wind farms.

It’s unclear at this stage whether the legal process will go ahead and if it does, how long it would take. If it were to drag into next year, it could leave RWE and Abu Dhabi’s Masdar facing hundreds of millions of pounds for seabed fees to the Crown Estate during the prolonged development phase.

Judicial reviews are one of a variety of measures that the UK government has sought to reform to speed up new infrastructure projects. A bill passed last year limited the use of judicial reviews to prevent projects from being tied up in the courts for extended periods of time. 

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

The company, founded in 2018, is seeking to expand into Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo, said Romain de Villeneuve, WeLight’s chief executive officer. It already operates in Madagascar and Mali and is seeking a fifth country to expand to. 

The expansion adds to other steps on the continent to increase access. The World Bank and African Development Bank are spearheading a drive to invest tens of billions of dollars to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030. Many of those will need to be reached with off-grid solutions like mini-grids and the World Bank is backing funds to accelerate the deployment of the technologies.

“We are prepared for the next steps,” said de Villeneuve. “One million connections by 2030. I would like to be a bit earlier.”

The company, in which the International Finance Corp. bought a stake last month, plans to spend $450 million expanding in Nigeria and Congo, which together account for about 170 million of the more than 560 million people without access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa. Another $200 million will be spent in in Madagascar, Mali and a new country, de Villeneuve said. 

He expects to source half of the finance from dedicated funds for so-called distributed renewable energy such as the World Bank-backed Dares program in Nigeria and the Mwinda Fund in Congo. The rest will come from equity sales, including to existing shareholders, and concessional debt. 

“Private money cannot finance everything,” he said.

Axian Group Ltd., Sagemcom SAS and Norfund AS are the founding shareholders in the company with the IFC the only entrant since 2018. 

Currently WeLight has around 65,000 connections, mostly in Madagascar, and is in the midst of an expansion to about 90,000, the CEO said.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

Businesses have taken advantage of market reforms and invested billions of rand in renewable energy to protect against almost two decades of rolling blackouts and steep price increases that exposed the risks of relying solely on state-owned power utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. and deteriorating municipal distribution networks. 

Many of the major companies traded on the benchmark index in Johannesburg — spanning mining, real estate, retail and healthcare, among other sectors — say they're working to boost renewables to lower dependency on Eskom and cut costs, with at least 40 firms in 2026 alone sharing such plans. 

While Eskom has stabilized supply and managed more than a year without scheduled power cuts that throttle demand to prevent total grid collapse and are known as load shedding, homes and businesses are often exposed to prolonged local outages because towns and cities haven’t maintained or upgraded their cables and transformers. 

The migration to private renewables supply is transforming Africa's biggest electricity market from one dominated by a state monopoly into one where companies increasingly choose how and from whom they buy electricity.

“We had 102 years of a monopoly responsible for energy and now it’s a liberalized market where businesses can choose where they get their energy from,” said Andre Nepgen, the chief executive officer of Discovery Green, a renewable-energy trading platform set up by insurer Discovery Ltd. in 2023.

Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd., the world’s No. 2 producer of the metal used in electronics and devices that cut vehicle emissions, is among the firms that have had to rethink how they power their operations in South Africa, home to most of the producer’s mines. 

In 2024, it partnered with Discovery Green to obtain clean electricity for its refinery east of Johannesburg through wheeling, which involves buying power from off-site independent producers who then feed it into the national grid, allowing buyers to withdraw an equivalent amount at their location. It’s also exploring solar options for its biggest operation, Rustenburg, as well as the smaller Marula mine.

“Our decision was shaped by a convergence of factors rather than a single trigger” that include a climate imperative, operational realities and costs, Sustainable Development Executive Tsakani Mthombeni said by email. “South Africa’s electricity-supply constraints pose a direct risk to our operations’ safety and production,” with renewables bolstering security, he said, adding that reliability “is non-negotiable.”  

The corporate renewable-energy market that Discovery Green is part of took off after 2021, when the state opened up private power generation and wheeling to tackle chronic shortages. 

Government buying under its so-called Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme initially drove growth in South Africa's renewable industry. The latest expansion, however, has come from companies investing their own capital after the reforms opened the market to private generation and electricity trading.

While supply constraints are among the chief drivers of the move to renewables, the cost of power is a big factor too. The regulator has allowed Eskom to raise tariffs by rates that have far exceeded inflation in recent years to help the company meet its obligations and as the government struggles to rein in non-paying municipalities. Prices have climbed almost 900% since 2008, equating to an average annual increase of about 15% since then. Eskom, meanwhile, still struggles with a long-term debt pile of 358 billion rand ($22 billion).

These hikes have eaten into companies’ profit margins and they need to find cheaper alternatives, said Richard Doyle, managing director of  JUWI South Africa, which builds and maintains solar and wind plants. 

“The cost of buying energy from Eskom is over 2 rand ($0.12)” per kilowatt-hour, Doyle said. “The levelized cost of solar power now is maybe 50 to 60 cents. It is a complete commercial no-brainer for any and all industries now to move towards solar power.”

Predictability is also a major motivating factor, said Nepgen. 

“The certainty element of saying ‘this is my cost and it’s only going to increase by CPI’ is hugely valuable for businesses,” he said, referring to consumer price inflation. “When you’re deciding  on whether or not to open a new facility, if you have uncertainty around your future electricity costs, that might discourage investment, so that CPI hedge really helps.”

South Africa has more than 2,500 renewable-energy projects with 19,677 megawatts of generating capacity registered with the National Energy Regulator compared with under 20 megawatts in 2018, the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association said.

The National Transmission Company of South Africa separately estimates that the nation has about 8,400 megawatts of so-called behind-the-meter private-solar installations that generate power for on-site use and don’t supply the grid. The datasets aren’t comparable and likely overlap in part. Eskom has total installed capacity of about 53,200 megawatts, 85% of which is coal. 

The boom in private generation is redefining Eskom’s role in provision.

With consumers forced to find alternative sources of consistent supply, Eskom’s revenue has declined. And with their switch to lower-cost options eroding demand from the utility, it seeks bigger price increases that further cut clients’ reliance on it, deepening what the utility itself calls a “death spiral.” Eskom didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The South African central bank has brought attention to the knock-on effects of inadequate public infrastructure on financial stability, noting in June that increased substitution with private generation also hurts the coffers of municipalities, many of which on-sell Eskom’s supply. 

The company has responded by launching Eskom Green, a utility-scale renewable-energy developer that targets 6,000 megawatts of capacity by the end of the decade.

The move “is a market signal that renewable energy is now considered essential and is no longer a luxury,” Impala’s Mthombeni said.

After more than a century of relying on a single dominant utility, businesses are gaining more choices about where their electricity comes from and how much they pay for it.

For Eskom, the challenge is no longer simply keeping the lights on. It's adapting to a competitive electricity market where its biggest customers increasingly have alternatives.

“We expect renewable energy to play a central role in stabilizing the country’s energy system,” Mthombeni said. “Renewable-energy technology will not replace the grid, but it will complement it — creating a more diversified, resilient and sustainable energy mix.” 

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

TotalEnergies SE sold a cargo for July 10-11 delivery to state-owned Pakistan LNG Ltd. for $17.37 per million British thermal units, according to traders with knowledge of the matter. The shipment was bought in a tender that closed on Friday.

The purchase marks Pakistan’s second spot gas procurement in two weeks as Islamabad seeks to replace canceled Qatari supplies stuck in the Gulf. While traffic via Hormuz — a key conduit for about a fifth of global LNG supply — has increased since the US and Iran signed an interim peace agreement, flows of the super-chilled fuel haven’t yet recovered to pre-war levels.

Pakistan sourced nearly all of its LNG under long-term contracts with Qatar last year, leaving the South Asian nation grappling with energy shortages after Iran bombed the producer’s facilities early in the conflict. The outages forced Islamabad to buy more expensive fuel on the spot market, with the latest purchase priced at about twice the rate under the Qatari contracts. 

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

The decision, which was made during the group's virtual meeting on Sunday, is the most recent phase in the alliance's gradual reversal of the voluntary production reductions that were initially decided upon in 2023.

"In their collective commitment to support oil market stability, the seven participating countries decided to implement a production adjustment of 188 thousand barrels per day from the additional voluntary adjustments announced in April 2023," OPEC+ said in a press statement. 

The August increase follows similar quota hikes in June and July, bringing the cumulative increase since April to nearly 800,000 bpd.

This marks the fifth consecutive monthly output increase by OPEC+ producers.

According to a Bloomberg survey, OPEC’s crude production rose by 2.34 million bpd in June to 18.75 million bpd, with strong gains recorded in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. 

Easing regional tensions

The increase reflects the gradual resumption of exports as Gulf producers begin more regular shipping via the strait following a cooling of geopolitical conflicts.

Kuwait recorded the largest monthly increase, lifting output by 870,000 bpd to 1.36 million bpd after its production had been cut by around 80% during the conflict. 

Saudi Arabia increased production by 550,000 bpd to 7.2 million bpd, while Iran boosted output by 510,000 bpd to 2.85 million bpd, although the country continues to face challenges marketing some of its crude, with significant volumes reportedly stored on tankers at sea. 

OPEC's challenges remain 

Despite the rebound, OPEC’s production remains well below pre-conflict levels. 

June output was still around 7.3 million bpd, or 28%, lower than February production after accounting for the UAE's departure from the organisation in May.

The UAE’s exit has also reshaped the producer landscape, allowing Abu Dhabi to increase production independently once export routes fully normalise. 

Meanwhile, Iraq has renewed pressure on the group for higher production quotas, highlighting potential challenges to OPEC’s cohesion.

The production recovery comes at a time when global demand remains mixed. 

Decreased crude imports by China, the world’s largest oil importer, have affected the oil market, while higher exports from producers outside the Middle East have added to global supply.

Brent crude has retreated to around $72 per barrel, down sharply from the triple-digit prices seen during the height of the conflict, reflecting expectations that Middle East supplies will continue returning to the market.

Analysts say the immediate focus will remain on the pace of export recovery through the Strait of Hormuz and whether demand, particularly in China, strengthens in the second half of the year.

What's in store for the second half of 2026? 

“The group of seven kept unwinding their production cuts as widely expected,” said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo. 

“The near-term focus will remain on how many tankers will manage to cross the Strait of Hormuz and how quickly demand and Chinese crude imports recover,” Staunovo added. 

Following the August increase, the seven core OPEC producers will have only around 379,000 bpd of their original 2023 voluntary cuts left to restore.

If a similar increase is approved at the group’s next meeting in early August, the rollback of those cuts could be completed by September, marking a significant milestone in OPEC+’s post-conflict supply strategy.

Marking its 25th anniversary, the conference convenes ministers, regulators, national oil companies (NOCs), international oil companies (IOCs), indigenous operators, and investors for discussions spanning energy security, upstream development, gas monetisation, infrastructure, and investment.

Nigeria's energy demand has been rising, bringing conversations about energy access and affordability to the forefront. In this context, NOG Energy Week provides a platform for high-level dialogues on the policies and partnerships needed to support these issues.

The strategic conferences feature a line-up of influential decision makers from across the public and private sectors, highlighting the people driving the region’s energy agenda. 

Confirmed speakers from Nigeria include Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri; Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpo Ekpo; Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Owan Enoh; Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission Chief Executive, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan; Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Limited, Bashir Bayo Ojulari, and more. 

Also speaking at the event will be prominent African ministers of state and representatives from IOCs such as: Zimbabwe’s Minister of Energy and Power Development, July Moyo; Niger’s Minister of Petroleum, Hamadou Tini; Chairman and MD of ExxonMobil Affiliates in Nigeria, Jagir Baxi; Country Chairman & MD of TotalEnergies EP Nigeria Limited, Matthieu Bouyer; African Refiners & Distributors Association's Executive Secretary, Anibor Kragha, and more. 

The participation of senior government representatives alongside executives from NOCs, IOCs and indigenous energy companies underscores the importance of collaboration as Nigeria seeks to unlock new investment, expand production, and accelerate the development of its natural gas resources.

As the industry continues to navigate evolving market dynamics and rising energy demand, the conference is set to reaffirm its role as a key platform for advancing collaboration and defining the future direction of Africa’s energy sector.

Sessions throughout the week are expected to explore regulatory developments, financing, local content, digital innovation, and the technologies supporting a more efficient and resilient energy sector. 

As Nigeria, along with other African countries, works to balance energy security, economic growth, and sustainability goals, the conference will also examine how regional cooperation can help drive future investment and infrastructure development.

Since its inception, NOG Energy Week has evolved into one of Africa's leading energy gatherings, providing a forum where policy decisions, commercial partnerships, and technology solutions converge.

Over the past 25 years, the event has showcased the transformation of Africa’s energy sector, from upstream expansion and industry reforms to the growing role of gas in supporting industrialisation and economic diversification.