This follows high-level diplomatic engagement, including a telephone conversation on March 26 between Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. On Tuesday, Anwar said he told the Iranian leader during the call that the stranded Malaysian vessels “will cause difficulty,” and was assured that instructions would be issued to facilitate their safe passage.

Malaysia has maintained cordial diplomatic ties with Iran. Anwar has acknowledged Tehran’s right to defend its sovereignty while calling for a rapid resolution to the conflict. 

Iran has cleared seven Malaysian tankers to traverse the Strait of Hormuz, which has become a flashpoint of the war in the Middle East. The vessels — which won’t be subject to a toll that Iran charges to ships passing through the vital waterway — include those owned by Malaysian energy giant Petroliam Nasional Bhd., shipping firm MISC Bhd. and Sapura Energy Bhd., the Star newspaper reported in March. 

A spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment on details of the vessel that sailed through the Strait of Hormuz and the others.

“Malaysia remains firmly committed to the principle of freedom of navigation, safety and security of maritime passage, in accordance with international law,” the ministry said in a statement Tuesday. Malaysia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohamad Hasan spoke with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, on March 24.

Despite global uncertainties and the prospect of “price disruptions,” Malaysia doesn’t face an oil supply crisis, with its own production and long-standing import agreement with Australia, Anwar said on Tuesday.

The effective closure of the strait, which typically carries about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flows, has roiled markets and triggered a broad energy crisis. Two loaded LNG carriers that had seemingly aborted an attempt to exit the Persian Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz are now headed toward Qatar.

President Donald Trump said any agreement to end the Middle East conflict must guarantee freedom of navigation through the strait, making the reopening of the key oil chokepoint a “very big priority” in ongoing talks with Iran. He also warned that if Tehran fails to meet his Tuesday 8 p.m. Eastern Time deadline, the US could launch sweeping strikes on Iranian infrastructure, including bridges and power plants.

(Updates with Anwar’s comment in second paragraph.)

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

Trump said Monday that talks with Iran are “going well” and that reopening the strait as “a very big priority.” The president in recent weeks has said an agreement on the strait wasn’t among his core prerequisites for ending the conflict. 

“We have to have a deal that’s acceptable to me, and part of that deal is going to be we want free traffic of oil and everything,” he said at a White House news conference.

Trump laid bare the consequences Iran would face if it doesn’t reach a deal by his Tuesday 8 p.m. Eastern Time cut-off, saying the US military could destroy “every bridge in Iran by 12 o’clock tomorrow night.” Power plants would be rendered “burning, exploding and never to be used again,” he said. 

Attacking civilian infrastructure is barred by the Geneva Conventions, but Trump said he was “not at all” concerned about committing war crimes. 

“I mean complete demolition by 12 o’clock, and it will happen over a period of four hours, if we wanted to,” he said. “We don’t want that to happen.” 

The president’s self-imposed deadline marks the latest pivotal moment in the war, now in its second month, which has killed thousands and triggered the largest-ever disruption to the global oil market. The president has struggled to find an off-ramp to the conflict — increasingly unpopular with Americans who are seeing average gasoline prices above $4 a gallon.

Iran has warned that it would respond to the kind of strikes Trump is threatening against civilian targets by ramping up its own attacks on energy infrastructure in the Gulf — a move that could heighten the global fuel squeeze and amplify damage to the world economy.

The president’s comments on the strait appeared to be at odds with past remarks from his administration about whether he’d be willing to end the war with the strait still closed. Last week, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt didn’t list reopening Hormuz as a core US military objective.

Oil prices rose as Trump threatened more strikes, renewing traders’ fears that flows through the strait would remain curtailed for longer. Global equities — after gaining Monday on ceasefire hopes — fluctuated as uncertainty about the war kept investors on the sidelines.

Singapore’s top diplomat warned the economic fallout from the war could worsen and investors have yet to adjust. “I’m quite sure the markets are not fully pricing the worst-case scenario,” Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan told Bloomberg Television at an Investment Management Association of Singapore conference. 

At the press conference, Trump mixed threats with an upbeat assessment of diplomatic conversations, even though Tehran earlier rejected a ceasefire proposal and instead demanded a permanent end to the war.

Trump said Vice President JD Vance is involved in the conversations and also mentioned special envoy Steve Witkoff, who had sought an agreement with Tehran before the US and Israel began the war in late February.

“I can tell you that we have a active, willing participant on the other side,” Trump said. “They’re negotiating, we think in good faith — we’re going to find out.”

Trump said it was “highly unlikely” that he’d move the deadline again.

Earlier Monday, Iran refused to agree to ceasefire terms relayed via Pakistan, which has been mediating efforts to end the conflict. 

Leaders in Iran have instead called for a permanent end to the war, reconstruction efforts and the lifting of sanctions, in addition to protocols for ensuring safe passage through Hormuz, according to Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency. 

The agency reported Monday, citing a spokesman for the nation’s joint military command, that Iran’s offensive against the US and Israel wouldn’t be affected by Trump’s threats.

Iran has said it would only allow strait operations to resume when it is compensated for damage from the war. Tehran has continued striking energy targets in neighboring Gulf countries, including Kuwait’s oil headquarters. 

Axios reported that Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey are pushing to secure a potential ceasefire — lasting about 45 days — to head off threatened American strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure and retaliation by the Islamic Republic against countries in the region.

In an expletive-laden post on Sunday, Trump amped up his threats to destroy Iran’s power plants and blow up “everything over there” before announcing his new deadline. The move adds to a series of extensions since he began issuing similar ultimatums on March 21 to force Iran to reopen the strategic waterway.

The president initially called his news conference to tout the success of a pair of daring US missions over the weekend to rescue two airmen whose jet was shot down in Iranian airspace. Trump said the operations involved more than 175 aircraft and hundreds of military personnel.

Yet that incident, combined with Trump’s threats, cut against the aura of invincibility the president and his advisers have sought to project.   

Trump and other officials appeared to contradict each other over the threat posed to American planes flying in the country. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the US military controls the skies in Iran. But Trump and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine said US aircraft involved in the rescue operation had been hit by enemy fire. And Trump later said the two pilots’ fighter jet was shot down by a shoulder-fired missile.

The president also lamented that he would like to take Iran’s oil for the US but that the American public wants to wind down the conflict.

“I’m a businessman first,” Trump said when asked about the trade-off between seizing the oil supplies and public opinion. “And I’ve said, why don’t we use it — to the victor go the spoils? And we don’t have that.”

(Updates with markets and comment on worst-case scenario from paragraph 10.)

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

Brent traded above $111 a barrel after adding 0.7% in the prior session, while West Texas Intermediate was around $116 after closing at its highest since June 2022. Trump said Monday that talks with Iran are “going well,” even as he listed reopening the Strait of Hormuz as “a very big priority.”

The US president laid bare the consequences Iran would face if it doesn’t reach a deal by his 8 p.m. Eastern Time Tuesday cut-off, saying the US military could destroy “every bridge in Iran by 12 o’clock tomorrow night.” Power plants would be rendered “burning, exploding and never to be used again,” he said, which would be a breach of the Geneva Conventions.

Iran has warned that it would respond to such strikes by ramping up its own attacks on energy infrastructure in the Persian Gulf — a move that could heighten the global fuel squeeze and amplify damage to the world economy. The war — which is now in its sixth week — has roiled crude markets, triggering a severe supply shock.

“If Trump does move into ‘decimation’ mode and Iran follows through with ‘more crushing’ and ‘more extensive’ retaliatory attacks, we expect to see momentum building above $110, toward $120,” said Robert Rennie, head of commodity research at Westpac Banking Corp. “However, if Trump extends, again, then we remain in the current $95-$110 range for now.”

As the war grinds on, there are signs of deepening concern about near-term supply. WTI’s prompt spread — the difference between its two nearest contracts — at one point traded near $15.50 a barrel on Monday, near the biggest premium on record. The widening was ushered in by firming expectations of tighter US supplies as overseas buyers rush to purchase American crude.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

Taiwan Power Co., the government-owned utility that’s the main electricity supplier, will procure coal-fired power from the Mailiao plant from May after Units 1 and 3 are ramped up, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said.

Global energy markets have been upended by the war between the US, Israel and Iran, which has cut flows of liquefied natural gas and crude oil. That’s forced governments to lean more on the dirtiest fossil fuel for power generation. In Asia, Japan, South Korea and Bangladesh have all increased their reliance on coal, while in Europe, countries including Poland may boost usage of coal gas. Germany, meanwhile, may reactivate a mothballed coal plant.

Taiwan — which houses some of the world’s top chipmakers — typically relies on LNG for about half its electricity generation and bought about one-third of its supplies from Qatar last year. A shutdown in the largest LNG export plant in Qatar spurred by the conflict, coupled with the near-complete closure of the Strait of Hormuz, has sent the island scrambling for alternatives.

While the island has managed to secure LNG supply through May, and also has arrangements for about half of its June requirements, additional spending on oil and gas is estimated to cost billions of dollars.

The move to increase coal-fired power aims to address LNG supply risks, while mitigating the impact of high gas prices on electricity rates, the ministry said in a statement. Taiwan’s domestic gas supply remains sufficient, and all power generation units are operating as scheduled, it added.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

ADNOC Gas recently experienced an incident at the Habshan complex due to falling debris following a successful interception by air defence systems. Tragically, one contractor lost his life, and several colleagues were injured during the evacuation of the site. On behalf of the Board, the Chairman, His Excellency Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, extended his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family and wished the injured a swift recovery. The affected area has been isolated, and customer supply remains uninterrupted across other ADNOC Gas facilities. The company is conducting a thorough assessment of the damage.

Positive outlook and strong performance

His Excellency Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Chairman of ADNOC Gas’ Board of Directors, commented: “In 2025, ADNOC Gas delivered record results amid an evolving global energy landscape shaped by rising electricity demand, industrial growth, and the rapid scaling of AI-enabled technologies. Natural gas remains essential to powering economic progress and digital infrastructure, and ADNOC Gas strengthened its position as a reliable and affordable supplier supporting the UAE and international markets. Backed by disciplined capital allocation and world-class operational reliability, we advanced strategic growth projects, including Rich Gas Development Phase 1, our largest-ever FID, while maintaining our commitment to predictable shareholder returns, including our policy of 5% annual dividend growth through 2030. As global gas demand continues to expand, ADNOC Gas is uniquely positioned to build on this momentum and deliver sustainable value for the future.”

In 2025, ADNOC Gas delivered a record net income of $5.2 billion despite a 14% year-on-year (YoY) decline in average Brent prices to $69 per barrel, demonstrating the resilience of its business model and the strength of its domestic gas portfolio. EBITDA from the domestic gas business increased by 10% YoY, supported by 4% YoY sales volume growth and improved commercial terms.

The Company also strengthened its capital markets positioning during the year by completing the largest secondary share offering ever on the ADX and in the UAE, raising $2.84 billion through the placement of 3.1 billion shares. As a result, ADNOC Gas was subsequently included in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index and the FTSE Emerging Index, attracting more than $750 million in passive inflows and further diversifying its global investor base.

ADNOC Gas has set a dividend target of $24.4 billion for 2025 to 2030. Beginning in the third quarter of 2025, the company transitioned to quarterly dividend payments, providing shareholders with more frequent and visible returns.

For the 2025 financial year, the total dividend of $3.584 billion comprises an interim cash dividend of $1.792 billion, paid in September 2025; a quarterly dividend of $896 million, paid in December 2025; and a final dividend of $896 million, to be paid in May 2026.

The 2025 dividend is in line with the Company’s 5% annual dividend growth policy and is fully supported by strong free cash flow generation, exceeding the 2025 dividend commitment by more than $500 million.

The tankers are gathered in several locations, including West India, off the coast of Sri Lanka, the northern entrance to the Strait of Malacca, and the waters east of Singapore, according to an analysis of tracking data from Bloomberg and Kpler. None of the tankers is carrying LNG, the data shows.

Qatar was forced to shut production at the world’s largest LNG export plant following an Iranian drone attack in early-March, upending the global market and leaving its vast fleet of tankers without orders. Parts of the facility at Ras Laffan were damaged following another attack later in March.

The idled ships illustrate the scale of the disruption, which has sent shockwaves through the LNG industry and forced some nations to cut consumption. LNG traffic through the Strait of Hormuz — the waterway that links the Gulf with global markets — has been brought to a near-standstill by Tehran since the US and Israel began strikes on Iran in late February.

At present, there are more than 800 LNG tankers in operation worldwide, according to the International Group of Liquefied Natural Gas Importers.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

OPEC's Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC), comprising Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Algeria and Venezuela, held its 65th meeting via videoconference on Sunday. 

The JMMC reviewed current market conditions and emphasised the essential role of the Declaration of Cooperation (DoC) in supporting the stability of global energy markets. In this context, the Committee highlighted the critical importance of safeguarding international maritime routes to ensure the uninterrupted flow of energy.

It also expressed concern regarding attacks on energy infrastructure, noting that restoring damaged energy assets to full capacity is both costly and time-consuming, thereby affecting overall supply availability. Accordingly, the Committee stressed that any actions undermining energy supply security, whether through attacks on infrastructure or disruption of international maritime routes, increase market volatility and weaken the collective efforts under the DoC to support market stability for the benefit of producers, consumers, and the global economy.

In this regard, the Committee commended the DoC countries that took the initiative to ensure the continued availability of supplies, particularly through the use of alternative export routes, which have contributed to reducing market volatility. The JMMC will continue to closely monitor market conditions and retains the authority to convene additional meetings or request an OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting, as established at the 38th ONOMM held on 5 December 2024. 

Separately, OPEC+ also agreed ‌to a modest rise of its oil output quotas by 206,000 barrels per day for May, although the figure will largely remain academic while key OPEC members being unable to raise production due to the Middle East conflict.

The Jewel, an Aframax-class vessel, started a cargo loading on Saturday, according to shipping information seen by Bloomberg News. 

Loadings at Ust-Luga, a key oil-export outlet in Russia’s west, stopped at the end of March as Ukraine stepped up attacks on energy infrastructure along the Baltic coast. 

Russia’s oil-pipeline operator Transneft didn’t immediately respond to a request for a comment outside normal business hours. 

Ukraine continues its attacks on Russia’s Baltic oil infrastructure, with facilities damaged in the port of Primorsk earlier on Sunday. Ukraine’s moves are aimed at curbing Russian export revenue at a time when global energy prices have rallied because of the war in the Middle East.

Still, if Russia resumes stable crude flows from Ust-Luga, it could bring some relief to global markets rattled by Iran’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

The Ocean Thunder crossed the Strait of Hormuz after Iran exempted its “brotherly” neighbor from shipping restrictions a day earlier.

Transits through the critical waterway have been picking up in the past week, with data on Saturday showing the highest seven-day rolling average since the war began. Yet traffic remains at a trickle compared with prewar numbers.

It’s not yet clear whether the dispensation for Baghdad will apply to all ships calling at Iraqi ports, or how it will be enforced. At its broadest, the exemption could free up about 3 million barrels a day of oil exports from the country and allow it to restart production from shuttered fields — as long as shippers are willing to send their tankers into the Gulf.

A total of 16 ships have crossed the strait since Saturday morning, with 11 exiting the Gulf and five entering from the open seas, vessel-tracking data show. In normal times, about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passes through the strait every day.

Iran has moved to tighten its control over the waterway, setting up a tolling system and directing most vessels to take a specific route close to its border. In the past day, all recorded transits of large ships went through that narrow northern passage, situated between the Iranian islands of Larak and Qeshm.

The most significant recent crossing is that of the Ocean Thunder, a vessel managed by Turkey-based Onn Denizcilik ve Danismanlik, according to the Equasis maritime database.

Tanker-tracking is hampered by electronic interference with ships’ signals, and some vessels disable their AIS transponders in high-risk waters, further reducing the timeliness and reliability of tracking data.

Outbound Transits

Five bulk carriers and three oil-product tankers exited the Persian Gulf on Saturday, with two oil tankers and a liquefied petroleum gas carrier following on Sunday morning. Four of the bulkers came from Iranian ports, with two signaling that they’d been delivering food.

The Ocean Thunder passed through Iran’s “toll booth” between the Qeshm and Larak islands. The products carrier Ratta followed the same route after leaving the Saudi port of Al Jubail, tracking data show. The LPG carrier Green Asha was also observed making the outbound crossing on Sunday, heading for India.

In addition, two very small Indian cargo ships have been noted leaving the Gulf, hugging the coast of Oman. Neither vessel has an IMO number and they are not included in the transit count.

With vessels “going dark” in high-risk waters, transit counts may initially appear lower and may be revised upward as delayed data becomes available.

Inbound Transits

One chemicals tanker, one LPG tanker, two bulk carriers and a container ship entered the Gulf on Saturday. The chemicals tanker, one bulker and the container ship are linked to Iran and sanctioned by the US.

The Iran-linked bulker and container ship headed for the port of Bandar Abbas at the top of the Strait of Hormuz, while the other three vessels all entered the Gulf along the Iranian route.

NOTES:

Because vessels can move without transmitting their location until they’re well away from Hormuz, automated positioning signals were compiled over a large area covering the Gulf of Oman, the Arabian Sea and the Red Sea to detect those that may have departed or entered the Persian Gulf.

When potential transits are identified, signal histories are examined to determine whether the movement appears genuine or is the result of spoofing — where electronic interference can falsify the apparent position of a ship. 

Some transits may not have been detected if vessels’ transponders haven’t been switched back on. Iran-linked oil tankers often steam from the Persian Gulf without broadcasting signals until they reach the Strait of Malacca about 10 days after passing Fujairah in the UAE. Other ships may be adopting similar tactics and won’t show up on tracking screens for many days.

This tracker will be published during heightened tensions involving Iran, and aims to capture traffic for all classes of commercial shipping.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

More vessels are crossing, including those with no clear links to Iran or China, as nations negotiate with Tehran to get their ships through. Transits over the past day were led by liquefied petroleum gas carriers, including one headed to India and others with Iranian affiliations. 

A total of 13 ships have crossed since Friday morning, with 10 exiting the Persian Gulf and three entering from the open seas, according to vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. Still, that’s a trickle compared with the numbers before the war began on Feb. 28. In normal times, about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passes through the strait every day. 

Iran has moved to tighten its control over the waterway, setting up a tolling system and directing most vessels to take a specific route close to its border. In the past day, all recorded transits went through that narrow northern passage, situated between the Iranian islands of Larak and Qeshm.

Recent crossings include a French container ship and a Japanese-owned LNG tanker, seemingly the first such transits since the war began. It’s not clear whether those journeys were a result of diplomatic outreach or negotiations by shipping companies and their intermediaries.

Tanker-tracking is hampered by electronic interference with ships’ signals, and some vessels disable their AIS transponders in high-risk waters, further reducing the timeliness and reliability of tracking data.

Outbound Transits

Five bulk carriers and one oil-product tanker joined the four LPG tankers in exiting the Persian Gulf since Friday morning. Three of the bulkers and the fuel tanker sailed on Saturday morning. Apart from the Indian LPG vessel, the others are linked to Chinese or Iranian interests.

With vessels going dark in high-risk waters, transit counts may initially appear lower and may be revised upward as delayed data becomes available.

Inbound Transits

Two LPG carriers and one fuel tanker with Iranian affiliations were among the inbound transits recorded since Friday morning.

NOTES:

Because vessels can move without transmitting their location until they’re well away from Hormuz, automated positioning signals were compiled over a large area covering the Gulf of Oman, the Arabian Sea and the Red Sea to detect those that may have departed or entered the Persian Gulf.

When potential transits are identified, signal histories are examined to determine whether the movement appears genuine or is the result of spoofing — where electronic interference can falsify the apparent position of a ship. 

Some transits may not have been detected if vessels’ transponders haven’t been switched back on. Iran-linked oil tankers often steam from the Persian Gulf without broadcasting signals until they reach the Strait of Malacca about 10 days after passing Fujairah in the UAE. Other ships may be adopting similar tactics and won’t show up on tracking screens for many days.

This tracker will be published during heightened tensions involving Iran, and aims to capture traffic for all classes of commercial shipping.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

Meloni started her tour from Jeddah, according to an Italian government official. She is the first leader of a European Union or North Atlantic Treaty Organization country to visit the region since the Iran war started, the official said, adding that Meloni will also meet with representatives from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on the trip.

The focus of her visit is to share views on the war, maritime security, opening the Strait of Hormuz, and the humanitarian situation in countries affected by the conflict, according to Italian diplomats. Meloni will also relay the message that Italian energy firms, including state-backed Eni SpA, remain committed to investing in the region, they added. 

The premier traveled to the region on Good Friday with a goal of strengthening the partnership with Gulf energy producers after Iran attacked them in retaliation for US and Israeli strikes, the diplomats said. She us seeking to get a full picture of their positions on the war, they added.

The trip would also help Meloni fortify energy links with the Gulf, the government official added, a key source for oil and gas for Italy. The Bank of Italy on Friday lowered its GDP growth estimates for 2026 and 2027, citing the impact of the war on prices and the economy. 

Italy has sent aerial defenses to the Gulf to help counter Iran’s assaults, and there were some similar requests pending, the diplomats said, but these were constrained by the war in Ukraine.

Rome has also remained in contact with Iran throughout the fighting, which started on Feb. 28, and is pushing for a ceasefire in a mediated resolution to the conflict.

Energy Prices

The war has roiled global energy markets, with the strait of Hormuz closure choking off global supply, a disruption that’s affected Italy particularly. Meloni flew to Algeria last month in an effort to secure more gas from the North African nation. Spain has made similar moves.

Earlier on Friday, Meloni’s government extended Italy’s fuel tax cut through May 1, committing about €500 million ($577 million) in added funds to blunt the impact of higher energy prices caused by the Iran war. 

For that period, consumers and businesses will continue to see a €0.25 per liter reduction in taxes at the pump, Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said. The new measures add to a similar-sized package that was set to expire on April 7.

“We’re talking about an emergency here,” Giorgetti told reporters in Rome. “The overall situation is objectively worrying for the economy,” Giorgetti added, referring to the war in Iran, with effects on monetary and fiscal policy for the countries affected.

Meloni’s government has limited headroom to intervene, given a mammoth public debt load and European Union fiscal rules. If the Iran war persists it will become “inevitable” that the EU revises the 3% deficit ceiling on member countries, Giorgetti said.

The lack of flexibility was underscored on Friday, when Italy’s statistics institute said the country had breached the European Union’s deficit ceiling in 2025. The budget shortfall reached 3.1% of domestic product last year, further compressing fiscal headroom for the government as it contends with the energy shock and attempts to respond to a key referendum defeat last month.

Several European nations, including Spain and France, have also passed energy measures or signaled that they were considering them in response to price shocks caused by the war. 

(Updates with context, Bin Salman meeting and additional detail starting from the first paragraph.)

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

Abu Dhabi suspended operations at its largest natural gas processing facility, after a fire broke out due to debris from a projectile interception. It is the second time operations have been halted at the Habshan facility since the war broke out. No injuries were reported. 

Hours earlier, a drone attack caused a fire at Kuwait’s Mina Al Ahmadi oil refinery, with a capacity of 346,000 barrels a day. Kuwaiti media said there were no immediate reports of casualties and teams were working to put out the blaze. Authorities also said a power and water desalination plant was attacked early on Friday, damaging some components. 

Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted several drones in the early morning.

On Thursday, Trump posted a video of a destroyed bridge and said there would be “much more to follow” if Iran didn’t agree to a deal to end the conflict, now almost five weeks old and which has caused a global energy crisis.

Iran remained defiant, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying strikes on civilian structures “will not compel Iranians to surrender.” The country has shown little sign of accepting Trump’s demands for peace and has laid out its own conditions — most of them unacceptable to the US and Israel.

CNN reported that about half of Iran’s missile launchers are still intact — despite more than 12,000 US and Israeli strikes on Iran since they began the war in late February — and that thousands of one-way attack drones remain in Iran’s arsenal. The assessment may include launchers that are currently inaccessible even if they are not destroyed, CNN said, citing three sources familiar with the matter.

Trump signaled this week he may be willing to pull US forces out of the conflict in two to three weeks, even if the vital Strait of Hormuz is still effectively shut. US allies in Europe, the Middle East and Asia are stepping up efforts to ensure the waterway — through which one fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies normally flow — is reopened soon.

More than 40 of them met virtually on Thursday to discuss plans, in a signal to Trump of their concern about the crisis triggered by the closure, with prices of energy and other commodities soaring in the past month.

The group was clear the US needed to include a solution for Hormuz in any ceasefire talks with Iran, people familiar with the discussions said. Still, the meeting showed the coalition of countries deem it necessary to begin preparations for having to reopen the strait without the US. Nations such as France and the UK have said military options are unlikely to work and that a ceasefire is needed.

The strait remains all but shut. Iran appeared to tighten its grip on Thursday when its media reported that the government is drafting protocol with Oman to monitor shipping traffic. That would require shippers to pay tolls to Iran, according to the country’s deputy foreign minister. Oman, which sits on the other side of the strait from Iran, is yet to comment on the reports.

The passage is officially in international waters and any attempt by Iran to assert control over traffic will be strongly opposed by Western powers and Gulf Arab states.

A trickle of ships is managing to pass through. A container ship signaling French ownership has recently exited the Strait of Hormuz, in what appears to be the first known transit by a vessel linked to Western Europe since the war began, Bloomberg reported.

The United Nations Security Council will likely vote on Friday on a resolution that would support a range of measures to reopen Hormuz.

Bahrain, supported by Jordan and Arab Gulf states such as the United Arab Emirates, is proposing the resolution, according to the UAE. It would provide “a clear legal basis for all states to mobilize and support safe passage,” the UAE said in a post on X.

In the oil market, WTI crude — the main benchmark for the US — settled above $110 a barrel for the first time since 2022 on Thursday. Fuel continued to edge higher worldwide, with diesel prices in Europe rising above $200 a barrel.

Oil markets are closed for Easter holidays on Friday.

Trump has oscillated between casting diplomatic efforts as productive, and threatening further destruction — including on civilian and energy infrastructure. Earlier this week, he threatened to target Iran’s energy facilities and water desalination plants if the strait stays shut — a move that could constitute a war crime under the Geneva Conventions.

He previously said Iran has until April 6 to reopen Hormuz or have its power plants destroyed. It’s unclear if that deadline is still in place.

The president is under increasing pressure from Americans to ease the energy shock, which has seen gasoline pump prices in the country surge to more than $4 a gallon on average. That’s the highest level in almost four years.

Trump has insisted prices will drop quickly once the war is over. He says the conflict was necessary to prevent Iran getting a nuclear bomb — something Tehran has always denied it wants — and to destroy its stockpile of missiles.

On Thursday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asked Army Chief of Staff General Randy George to step down immediately. The Pentagon didn’t give a reason.

A prolonged conflict carries political risks for Trump and his Republican Party as the November midterm elections approach. Polls show a significant numbers of Americans disapprove of military operations against Iran and a rising number are concerned about the economic impact of the war.

More than 5,000 people have been killed in the conflict so far, almost three-quarters of them in Iran, according to government organizations and the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. Just over 1,300 people have been killed in Lebanon, where Israel is fighting a parallel war against Iran-allied Hezbollah.

(Adds details on Abu Dhabi’s gas facilities.)

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

The Habshan gas facility was halted after debris fell in the area from the interception of an incoming attack, the Abu Dhabi Media Office said in a post on X. At Habshan, Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. operates the UAE’s main facility for collecting and processing gas from the emirate’s fields and distributing it for domestic use.

Habshan also has oil facilities and is the starting point for Adnoc’s crude pipeline to Fujairah, a key port that sits outside the Strait of Hormuz. 

Hours earlier, Kuwait’s Mina Al Ahmadi oil refinery was also struck, with units in operation at the time catching fire. Authorities also said a power and water desalination plant was attacked early on Friday, causing damages to some components.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

The company is exploring possible locations including Texas, Virginia and the northeastern US, the spokesperson said on Friday, confirming an earlier report by the Nikkei newspaper. No final decision has been made, the spokesperson added.

Artificial intelligence and the data centers behind it are driving a surge in US power demand, with tech firms turning increasingly to gas-powered facilities as a stable source of electricity. Osaka Gas President Masataka Fujiwara said in an interview in November that the company is targeting more investment in such plants in the US.

The US and Japan are also planning to build a $33 billion gas-fired power plant in Ohio as part of a trade deal between the two nations. At least 13 Japanese firms, including SoftBank Group Corp., are tied to that project.

The latest initiative by Osaka Gas is separate from the trade deal, the spokesperson said.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

Tokyo Gas Co., which supplies gas and electricity to the nation’s capital, suspended acceptance of new clients for industrial power use from March 6, a company spokesperson said. With the ongoing conflict affecting procurement costs, the company has yet to decide when it will resume taking on new customers, the spokesperson said.

Eneos Power Corp., the power-retail unit of oil refiner Eneos Holdings Inc., has also temporarily stopped taking requests from new clients for industrial use, according to its website. A company spokesperson declined to comment further.

The temporary restrictions apply only to industrial electricity users. Both companies are continuing to take on new clients for comparatively low-voltage household use.

The US-Israeli war with Iran has resulted in the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway that’s normally a transit point for a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas. This, along with the destruction of key energy infrastructure in the region, has affected the Japanese power market, which relies heavily on fossil-fuel imports to generate electricity.

Japan’s power retailers have suspended acceptance of new clients before, for example when the Russian invasion of Ukraine sent fuel prices skyrocketing. Such measures can threaten efforts by factories and other large power consumers from securing enough electricity.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

Jera and Commonwealth entered the long-term agreement last year, which would’ve seen the proposed Louisiana-based export project supply 1 million tons of LNG annually for 20 years. The notification of the deal’s termination was dated April 1 and filed on behalf of Commonwealth Energy. The agreement was terminated effective March 3, the letter said, without giving a reason.

Spokespeople for Commonwealth LNG and Jera did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The planned Commonwealth LNG project is under development by private equity-backed Kimmeridge Energy Management LLC, whose managing partner Ben Dell said last week that a final investment decision is expected in April. The project has other long-term offtake agreements with purchasers including Glencore Plc and Malaysia’s Petronas.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

Dan Jørgensen, European Commissioner for Energy and Housing, says the bloc is assessing “all possibilities” to tackle long-term effects of the Middle East conflict, including releasing more oil from strategic reserves.

“This will be a long crisis ... energy prices will be higher for a very long time,” Jørgensen told the Financial Times. The Dane also warned that for some more “critical” products, the EU could “expect it to be even worse in the weeks to come”.

Preparing for tough times

His message comes amid energy market disruption caused by the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz and strikes on Gulf infrastructure. Prices have soared alongside fears of long-term supply shortages, potentially higher inflation, and slower economic growth.

While Jørgensen explained the EU was “not in a security of supply crisis, yet”, Brussels was devising plans to tackle “structural, long-lasting effects” of the war.

Jørgensen continued. “It certainly is our analysis this will be a prolonged situation, and countries need to be sure that they ... have what they need.”

Governments have been creating strategies to support consumers. The commissioner said the EU was “preparing for the worst scenarios”, including rationing critical products such as jet fuel or diesel, although it was “not there yet”.

“Better to be prepared than to be sorry,” he said, also reiterating there would be no change to EU legislation to end Russian LNG imports this year.

The politician said relying instead on the US and other partners to provide additional supplies was acceptable, as they operate in “the free market”.

Potential relief levers 

Jørgensen also spoke about loosening jet fuel regulations to permit more US imports and allowing more ethanol blending for automotive fuel.

He again said the EU was “not there yet” but was examining all possibilities.

“It’s clear the more serious the situation gets, the more, of course, we will also have to look into legislative tools,” he said.

Jørgensen would also “not exclude” another release of strategic energy reserves “if the situation becomes more dire”, without revealing the bloc’s “exact analysis” on when that might be required.

EU countries actioned the largest release of strategic oil reserves in history last month, in a bid to tame soaring prices.

Jørgensen added: “We need to keep our possibilities open, and if this is indeed, as I project, a long-lasting crisis, we need those tools also at a later stage. It needs to be done at the exact right time, and it needs to be proportionate.”

The average rate for 30-year, fixed loans was 6.46%, the highest since early September and up from 6.38% last week. 

The housing market is entering its traditional peak time of the year for transactions, but concerns about the economy threaten to hold back both buyers and sellers. Spiking energy prices from the war in Iran have sparked inflation fears, while the growth of artificial intelligence stirs job insecurities. Home prices also remain out of reach for many Americans.  

Capital Economics downgraded its already bearish 2026 forecast for sales of previously owned homes, citing the recent jump in mortgage rates that’s been fanned by the war and higher yields for benchmark Treasury bonds.

That rise in loan costs has reduced purchasing power for new borrowers, who’d face significantly bigger monthly bills than they would have in late February, when rates dipped below 6%. 

“This fast-changing mortgage math, combined with general economic uncertainty, could keep more buyers on the sidelines as the typically busy spring market gets into full swing,” said Hannah Jones, senior economic research analyst for Realtor.com.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

Russian Energy Minister Sergey Tsivilev told the state-run TASS news agency that the second ship is being loaded.

The Donald Trump administration had blocked all major oil shipments to the island for more than three months, when it finally let through a Russian vessel on March 30 carrying 100,000 tons of crude. 

Trump called the exception a humanitarian gesture, but White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said it didn’t represent a fundamental change in the US maximum pressure campaign against the communist-run island. 

Brett Erickson, a sanctions expert and managing principal of Obsidian Risk Advisors, said oil markets are too fragile, with the ongoing war in Iran, and Washington is likely too focused elsewhere, to try to block this new tanker. 

“Energy markets are too volatile to think that the US is going to escalate with Russia and Cuba,” Erickson said. “This is the consequence of a distracted and over-stretched foreign policy.” 

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

The company delivered 358,023 vehicles worldwide in the first quarter, according to a statement Thursday. Analysts anticipated 372,160 on average among estimates compiled by Bloomberg, a figure that steadily dropped in recent weeks. It’s the second consecutive quarter that Tesla has fallen short of projections.

Deliveries still managed to rise 6.3% from a year earlier, when the carmaker paused Model Y production at plants around the globe and dealt with a consumer backlash against Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk. Aside from that period, the latest quarter’s results were the lowest since mid-2022.

Investors have mostly been willing to overlook Tesla’s sales trend as Musk has refocused around the futuristic business lines of artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles and robotics. Still, the traditional car business remains the primary cash generator for the Austin-based company, making it crucial that Tesla finds traction even as US electric-vehicle demand wavers.

“While the delivery numbers were quite underwhelming, this was not a shock to us given the current EV backdrop across geographies while the company shifts gears to focus more on its AI strategy,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said in a note. There is a “more difficult demand environment while Europe remains a headwind to its deliveries.”

Tesla shares fell as much as 4.6% after the markets opened in New York, the biggest intraday drop in almost two months. The stock declined 15% this year through Wednesday’s close and has fallen 22% from a record high in December.

The US — Tesla’s largest market — is entering a new era for EV demand following the loss of federal incentives that had been subsidizing purchases. The phase-out of those incentives at the end of September heavily skewed sales in the second half of last year.

President Donald Trump has sought to eliminate what he called an EV mandate by eliminating tax credits and weakening emissions and fuel-efficiency requirements, leading many automakers to reinvest in gas-powered models.

Aside from the US market headwinds, Tesla is also grappling with rising competition from Chinese EV makers around the world and an aging vehicle lineup. The company is discontinuing its two oldest vehicles, the Model S sedan and Model X SUV.

Musk has said Tesla aims to begin volume production soon on a new two-seater model, the Cybercab, that will support the company’s nascent robotaxi business. The sales prospects are uncertain for that vehicle, which is designed to be operated autonomously and won’t have a steering wheel or pedals.

Tesla delivered a total of 341,893 Model Y SUVs and Model 3 sedans in the first quarter, with the two popular vehicles accounting for the bulk of the company’s sales and production. Deliveries of other EVs — the Model S, Model X and Cybertruck — rose to 16,130.

The deliveries were well short of Tesla’s overall production during the quarter, which came to 408,386.

The company’s energy business, which has been a relatively steady, growing division, was down during the period despite analysts’ predictions for a significant jump. Tesla reported that it deployed 8.8 gigawatt hours of energy-storage products during the quarter, compared with 10.4 gigawatt hours a year ago.

“The biggest disappointment was the energy storage deployment number, which has been a key growth driver for Tesla in recent quarters,” said Garrett Nelson, an analyst with CFRA. “The lack of detail in the release leaves a lot of unanswered questions between now and its earnings release later this month.”

Tesla will report first-quarter financial results on April 22.

(Updates with analysts’ comments beginning in fifth paragraph.)

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

Construction of the 248-megawatt battery — which will have 496 megawatt-hours of capacity — is scheduled to begin this summer, with operation expected in 2028, Neoen, controlled by Brookfield Asset Management, said in a statement. Japan’s Nidec will assemble the battery packs in France.

Demand for battery storage is growing in France, and other parts of Europe, as power gluts become increasingly frequent due more solar and wind generation that can exceed demand during parts of the day. That’s leading to curbs in French nuclear and renewable output, making grid balancing more challenging, and causing big swings in prices — including to below zero.

The new battery will provide frequency and voltage regulation services to the French grid and help relieve congestion of the network in the Paris region, according to the statement 

Installed battery storage in France rose 35% last year 1.61 gigawatts, according to grid operator RTE data.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

Brent climbed above $107 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was near $105 following Trump’s rare prime-time address to the nation, where he cast the war as a success. The president said the US would hit Iran “extremely hard” over the next two to three weeks, and that Hormuz would open “naturally” after the conflict ends, without offering details or a clear timeline. 

“Nothing in Trump’s speech alters the underlying market reality: the strait has effectively been closed for a month, and flows remain materially constrained with at least several weeks of disruption still likely, if not more,” said Robert Rennie, head of commodity research at Westpac Banking Corp. Brent is expected to trade between $95 and $110 a barrel in the near term, he added.

Oil fell in recent days, while wider markets rallied, after Trump signaled a possible resolution to the Middle East conflict within weeks, but his speech from the White House injected further uncertainty about an end to war. The US president again threatened attacks on Iranian oil facilities.

The conflict has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, choking off supplies of crude, gas and products such as diesel to global markets, driving up energy prices and raising fears of an inflation crisis. Oil posted big monthly gains in March and Brent is still more than 40% higher than before the war.

The standoff over Hormuz is the most pressing issue for energy markets. On Monday, Trump said the US will blow up Iranian infrastructure including power plants if the strait doesn’t re-open, but on Tuesday, he called on other nations to wrest control of the waterway. The United Arab Emirates is among Gulf nations calling on the United Nations to authorize force to re-open it.

Iran and Oman will decide the future of the strait, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Wednesday, state-run Press TV reported. Hormuz won’t be opened based on the “absurd displays” of the US president, state-run IRIB added, citing a statement by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Trump said in his address from the White House late Wednesday that the war is “very close” to completion, but added military operations will soon escalate in Iran. He stated that “over the next two to three weeks, we’re going to bring them back to the stone ages where they belong.” The president said countries that get oil via Hormuz should take the lead in protecting shipments.

“The president’s characteristic ambiguity leaves multiple military options open in the near term, even as it sketches a relatively short timeline for US involvement,” said Claudio Galimberti, Houston-based chief economist at Rystad Energy. “Until there is greater clarity on the path to de-escalation, markets are likely to remain highly volatile.”

Even if the conflict was to end within a few weeks, it would still take time for normal flows to resume through Hormuz, while some energy infrastructure has been damaged and is facing lengthy repairs. The International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol warned that energy rationing may be coming soon to some countries as the oil supply shock deepens this month. 

Trump has vacillated throughout the conflict — which is nearing its sixth week — between threatening a military escalation and saying a deal is imminent. He has dispatched Vice President JD Vance to deliver an ultimatum to Iran to make a deal or face attacks on key infrastructure.

Iran’s military is “prepared for any scenario,” the Iranian Students’ News Agency reported, citing Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei. He added that US demands are “maximalist and illogical.”

Investors are piling into options contracts that would allow them to profit from nearly any outcome, whether it’s a quick resolution dragging crude lower, or a further spike. There have been a smattering of lottery ticket-type bets that the global oil benchmark could rally to $450 a barrel.

“This spike is a physiological reset for a complacent market,” said Stefano Grasso, senior portfolio manager for Enhanced Value Fund at 8VantEdge Pte. He added that the fund has “taken the rare step of buying protection and adding energy length. The risk-reward is now too compelling to ignore.”

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

But the high-profile collapse of a World Bank-backed clean-cooking company has delivered another blow to confidence in the market, which has been battered by credibility issues for years and, more recently, by a retreat on climate commitments by governments and companies.

Koko Networks Ltd., which sold cooking stoves and clean-burning ethanol to about 1.3 million households in Kenya, folded in January amid concerns it was issuing more carbon credits than its products warranted, a claim the company has denied. 

The bankruptcy has had a ripple effect across projects selling carbon credits, companies buying them and the marketplaces on which those offsets are traded. Prices on Corsia, the marketplace for airlines where Koko was looking to sell its credits, fell as low as $12.25 from about $15 just before the firm’s collapse, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, and now sit at $12.85.

“The events of Koko have definitely created an undermining of confidence,” said Douglas Greenwell, commercial director and head of the carbon business at Burn, the world’s largest clean-cookstove developer and a seller of carbon credits.

Buyers have been unnerved by Koko’s failure to deliver credits they had been counting on and are reluctant to commit until there is more certainty, Greenwell said. He expects the softening of prices to be short term. “Corsia buyer demand [that] was emerging last year has not gone away, but it’s elongated,” he added. “Decision-making cycles have increased.”

Carbon offsets have long been a Rorschach test among climate experts. Some carbon markets allow companies to offset their greenhouse gas emissions by purchasing credits from businesses whose activities reduce the production of pollutants. Each credit represents a ton of carbon dioxide; Koko generated credits by attempting to quantify the deforestation avoided by shifting its customers away from cooking over wood and charcoal fires. 

Proponents argue that carbon credits channel crucial funds from companies and rich governments to poorer nations and communities, incentivizing the protection of important natural environments. Others argue that because the vast majority of projects focus on avoided emissions — trees that aren’t cut down or fossil fuels that aren’t burned — the sector is prone to unreliable carbon math or even fraud.

“Given all the doubts, issues, flaws, conflicts of interest in the market, lack of clarity on financial flows, it can’t be used for offsetting or to claim a company’s or country’s emissions are lower,” said Jonathan Crook, global carbon markets lead at nonprofit Carbon Market Watch. “That said, there can still be value from some carbon-crediting projects.”

Projects must result in emissions reductions — known as additionality — and the broader market needs to improve its methodologies and ensure there is enough oversight, he said.

In the longer term, that means supply is a bigger issue than demand. 

“Any time there are concerns about a prominent project’s ability to deliver carbon removal, that hurts the overall reputation of the sector,” said Kyle Harrison, head of sustainability research at BloombergNEF. “It’s a fairly persistent trend with projects around the world.”

The UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization, which oversees Corsia, declined to comment on whether Koko’s collapse had impacted prices. Still, high-quality carbon credits of the sort Corsia requires are hard to come by and Koko’s collapse has tightened supply even further. Corsia launched in 2021 on a voluntary basis, but most airlines will be required to comply from 2027. 

“The process for approving Corsia-eligible projects is time-intensive and only a handful of projects are eligible now,” Harrison said. Because the market is nascent and not very liquid, removing an advanced project like Koko from the pipeline “will have a big impact on fundamentals.” But demand will bounce back, he added, because aviation companies will ultimately be required to buy Corsia-eligible credits. 

The ICAO is “actively facilitating the assessment of more emissions unit programmes to enhance the supply of Corsia eligible emissions units,” a spokesperson for the agency wrote in an emailed reply to questions. The ICAO said it doesn’t speculate on potential future developments or comment on matters pertaining to specific external parties or member states. However, it did call on governments in countries where Corsia-eligible projects take place to issue the necessary permits to increase availability.  

Koko attributed its bankruptcy to the Kenyan government’s failure to issue permits known as letters of authorization, which the government had agreed to provide as part of an investment pact. Rivals, including Burn, have questioned whether the agreement was ironclad, saying that, unlike several other African governments, Kenya has shown little appetite for issuing LOAs for biomass-based credits. The Kenyan government didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Suppliers, governments and buyers are at risk of deadlock, said Burn’s Greenwell, unless parties become willing to “oil the market.” Cooking companies, including Burn, DelAgua Group and Hestian Innovation, are starting to deliver credits to carbon markets now. “But that’s only going to continue if we, as developers, keep being confident the buyers are there to buy,” he said.

“A lot of market players were banking on [Koko] receiving letters of authorization to be traded via Corsia at premium prices,” said BNEF’s Layla Khanfar.

Companies are starting to find creative ways to bridge the market’s gaps. In March, Sistema.bio, a provider of biodigesters for smallholder farmers in Africa and Asia, launched a $53 million investment vehicle for pre-financing biogas projects that will generate carbon credits. 

Backed by BNP Paribas Asset Management’s alternative investment platform, the Shell Foundation and development finance institution British International Investment, the funding facility is designed to deliver credits to buyers through multi-year purchase agreements.

“We saw a clear mismatch in investment,” said Alex Eaton, chief executive officer at Sistema.bio. “There were larger investors that wanted to put money into carbon markets but didn’t want to take project risk, and others who wanted to support project developers, startups and climate technology, but were less clear about the carbon-market risk.”

A rush to secure supply risks undermining one of the most crucial goals for carbon markets — to make reducing hard-to-abate emissions affordable for developing countries, said Carbon Market Watch’s Crook. Emissions from energy-intensive sectors such as transport and heavy industry are considered particularly difficult to prevent.  

Ultimately, countries participating in carbon markets need to make sure they’re getting something out of them, he said.

“The real risk right now is there’s a lot of pressure on governments to approve things and especially things that are not very expensive, leaving them with having to do the more expensive mitigation themselves,” Crook said. “There is a need for more caution for governments as to how they're going to approach these markets.”

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

By 2035, the world’s third-largest polluting nation aims to increase the share of electricity generation from cleaner sources to 60%, and plans to cut emissions intensity — the amount per unit of economic output — by 47% from a baseline year of 2005.

“That means very significant investment opportunities,” said Jayant Sinha, president of Eversource Capital, a private equity firm with more than $700 million in assets that invests in infrastructure. “Billions and billions of dollars have to flow into grid upgradation, battery storage, and so on.”

Energy transition investment in India jumped about 15% in 2025 to a record $67.9 billion, according to data compiled by BloombergNEF tracking sectors including electrified transport, clean industry and renewables. To hit net zero by 2070, India may need to deploy as much as $21 trillion on decarbonization, according to a draft document developed last year by Niti Aayog, the government’s top think tank.

Opportunities associated with India’s 2035 emissions goals also include electric vehicles and charging networks, Sinha said in an interview. Eversource has invested in companies focus on deploying smart meters and electric bus management systems in India.

India’s latest climate plan, required under terms of the Paris Agreement, has been criticized by advocates of faster action as lacking in ambition. The strategy didn’t set a goal for reductions in absolute greenhouse gas emissions, while a clean energy target is regarded as offering only an incremental advance.

Any shift by Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s government toward more aggressive plans would need far greater investment, Sinha said. “Not just hundreds of billions of dollars, but trillions of dollars are going to be required,” he said.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

The ninth edition of the Egypt Energy Show brought policymakers, global energy leaders, investors, and innovators together in the capital to address pressing energy challenges at an increasingly pivotal and disruptive time for the industry.

Spotlight on Egypt’s energy influence

His Excellency Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of the Republic of Egypt, led the Opening Ceremony, attended by a distinguished international audience of global CEOs, policymakers, and investors.

Joined by His Excellency Nikos Christodoulides, the President of Cyprus and Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, H.E. Eng. Karim Badawi, it signalled the beginning of an important fixture in the world’s 2026 energy event calendar.

The Egypt Energy Show 2026 was held at the Egypt International Exhibition Center (EIEC) under the theme Transforming Energy Through Collaboration, Action, and Realism. With dialogue, collaboration, and action at its core, the exhibition and conference again reinforced the North African nation’s role as a strategic regional energy hub that supports secure, affordable, and resilient energy systems.

Setting the scene for partnerships

This edition also witnessed a series of significant agreements and partnership announcements. These included an Egypt-Cyprus framework to enhance natural gas cooperation and joint offshore exploration, and a Chevron Host Government Agreement to advance the Aphrodite gas field and a 280km subsea pipeline to Egypt.

Partnerships between GANOPE, bp, and SLB for Red Sea hydrocarbon exploration and advanced seismic surveys were confirmed, as was an EPROM-Monarch-GTS agreement to assess and rehabilitate the Nordec mineral oil recycling plant. The event also saw an EGPC, Eni and Health Authority MoU to upgrade New Heliopolis Hospital and expand healthcare capacity.

Agenda for energy progress

The Egypt Energy Show 2026 Strategic Conference programme set a clear direction, which highlighted the importance of regional cooperation, pragmatic policymaking, and cross-border partnerships in navigating today’s complex energy landscape.

Prime Minister Dr Mostafa Madbouly also convened a high-level roundtable with global energy leaders and investors, which reinforced Egypt’s commitment to international collaboration and long-term, sustainable investment.

As well as at least 50,000 visitors, the presence of more than 350 influential speakers, and 500-plus exhibiting companies across 13 country pavilions on the show floor, underlined the show’s scale and significance. Emerging technologies and solutions were also placed in the spotlight at the Innovation and AI Hub, where the winners in both the Start-Up Pitch and the Industry Pitch were also showcased in style.

The Technical Conference again delivered essential information to industry professionals, and the Young Professionals Programme 2026 placed a focus on emerging industry talent to inspire the next wave of energy innovators, engineers, and sustainability advocates.

Meanwhile, the Energy Awards recognised excellence across the industry, covering categories such as Health and Safety, Young Energy Professionals, Process Safety Excellence, Digital Transformation and AI, and Scaling Renewable Projects.

The date for the 10th anniversary edition of The Egypt Energy Show has been confirmed as 29-31 March 2027. Visitor registration is now open.

The partnership comes as electricity demand accelerates across the region and brings together capital and expertise to deliver renewable energy at the scale and speed needed.

 Platform to capture Asia’s energy growth

Each company will contribute assets of comparable value, totalling 3GW of operational capacity and 6GW under advanced development.

The JV, to be headquartered in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), will act as both companies’ sole vehicle for developing, building, owning and operating onshore solar, wind and battery storage projects in Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, and Uzbekistan.

The JV brings together a global clean energy leader and a global integrated multi‑energy company and positions the partners to capture Asia’s growing electricity demand.

It will have a portfolio capacity of 3GW of operational assets and 6GW of assets in advanced development that are expected to be operational by 2030.

Expertise and scale to meet demand

His Excellency Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Chairman of Masdar, welcomed the transaction.

“The UAE has established itself as a global energy leader by delivering at scale, investing with conviction, and building partnerships that endure. Masdar epitomises that approach,” he said.

“We are proud to have pioneered renewable energy deployment in Central Asia and the Caucuses, and we have an expanding portfolio in some of the most attractive growth markets in Asia-Pacific.”

H.E. Dr. Al Jaber continued: “Asia will be the main driver of global electricity demand growth this decade, and this collaboration with TotalEnergies will accelerate our progress across the continent, unlocking new opportunities to deliver the competitive, reliable energy solutions that our partners and customers need.”

Strength from partnership

Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies, was also delighted with an agreement with Masdar which he said “brings together two major renewable players to build a renewable champion in Asia”.

He commented: “It will allow us to combine the strengths of our two companies to secure significant positions in these markets and create more value than if we were acting alone.

“This agreement is fully in line with the renewable energy strategy of our Integrated Power business. We are also pleased to further deepen, in this area, the long-standing relationship between the United Arab Emirates and TotalEnergies.”

Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, CEO of Masdar (Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC), said the JV reinforces Abu Dhabi’s status as a “global centre for energy leadership”, and combines the expertise of Masdar and TotalEnergies to drive renewable energy deployment across Asia.

“For Masdar, this JV strengthens and diversifies our portfolio, unlocking new opportunities in attractive, high-growth markets, while bringing in a like-minded partner to accelerate growth and deliver additional value in our existing markets,” he added.

The JV will be staffed by about 200 employees from both TotalEnergies and Masdar and the management team will be announced at a future date.

The closing of the agreement is subject to regulatory approvals and conditions.