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Iran

US president Joe Biden imposed the broadest package of sanctions so far targeting Russia's oil and gas revenues on Friday

Oil may hit $90 on Russia curbs and Iran output cut

Brent crude oil prices could rise above $85 a barrel in the short-term if the latest round of US sanctions against Moscow leads to lower Russian oil output, Goldman Sachs said on Sunday. Prices could touch $90 a barrel if the decline in Russian output coincides with a reduction in Iranian production, the bank said. US president Joe Biden imposed the broadest package of sanctions so […]

Iran China Chinese oil tanks

Iran seeks to free 25m barrels of oil stuck in Chinese ports

Iran is pushing to free 25 million barrels of the country’s oil that has been stuck for six years in Chinese ports because of sanctions imposed by Donald Trump during his first presidency, sources have said. Trump is expected by analysts to tighten sanctions again on Iranian oil exports tolimit Tehran’s income when he returns […]

Gas imports from Turkmenistan will help ease Iraqi domestic shortages due to Iran halting the flow of gas supplies

Iraq turns to Turkmenistan to plug Iranian gas gap

Iraq has always considered neighbouring Iran as a stable and reliable supplier of natural gas needed to run its power facilities, but experts now believe that alternative sources and domestic Iranian needs have put this relationship in doubt. Iran’s gas exports to Iraq have fluctuated sharply and the shortage has played havoc with Iraq’s power […]

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, right, with China's President Xi Jinping. The report says Saudi Arabia could learn from Beijing's economic development

Beijing ‘exploits’ Iran, says US advisory panel

American officials have identified the Middle East, and particularly the GCC, as crucial turf in superpower competition between the US and China, singling out energy and advanced technology as the main fields where a tug-of-war is taking place. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, a 25-year-old Congressionally-mandated independent US government agency, dedicated an entire […]

Trump Iran oil

Top of Trump’s to-do list: sanctions against Iran

Donald Trump’s second term as US president, which is due to start in January, is likely to bring a significant strengthening of sanctions against Iran and a resumption of the “maximum pressure policy”, industry experts believe. In his first term as president, Trump withdrew from the Joint Collective Plan of Action, a 2015 accord which […]

Petrol prices in Iran are some of the lowest in the world, making it difficult to unlock the country's oil wealth domestically

Iran’s mission to make the most of oil wealth

Despite some predictable vapouring from hardliners, the Islamic regime in Tehran will mainly be heaving a sigh of relief that Israel did not attack Iran’s oil infrastructure. The IAF avoided the main oil terminal at Kharg Island in the north of the Gulf, major refineries such as Abadan – there are 10 main refining sites in the country – […]

An Iranian worker walks along an oil production platform at the Soroush oil fields 80 km (50 miles) west of Iran's Kharg Island, 1,250 km (782 miles) south of the capital Tehran, in the Persian Gulf July 25, 2005. Picture taken July 25, 2005. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi

US sanctions unlikely to stop Iran’s oil smugglers

Tighter US economic sanctions are unlikely to disrupt Iran’s oil exports in the long run because Tehran has developed a sophisticated system of oil smuggling, using a dedicated fleet of tankers and middlemen in multiple countries, industry observers say. The regime in Tehran has been under US sanctions since the Islamic revolution of 1979.  But […]

Oil prices tumbled more than four percent to a near two-week low on Tuesday due to a weaker demand outlook

Oil steadies despite Middle East uncertainties

Oil prices inched higher in early trade on Wednesday on uncertainty over what may happen next in the Middle East conflict. Earlier, demand concerns knocked the market to its lowest since early October in the previous session. Brent crude oil futures rose 14 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $74.39 a barrel by 02:50 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate […]

RA2WM4 Oil refinery on river in Shanghai An oil refinery in Shanghai; China holds 1.1 billion barrels of crude oil stocks

IEA confident global oil supply can absorb disruption

Escalating tensions between Israel and Iran are fuelling concerns that an attack on Iranian production facilities could disrupt global oil supply. But forecasts by the International Energy Agency (IEA) suggest there are adequate global supplies to absorb the impact of such an event. Iran, a major oil exporter and Opec member, ships 1.6 million barrels […]

construction over-runs delays Asian construction workers working on a building, Kingdom of Bahrain

Middle East crisis further hinders late project delivery

The escalating Middle East conflict involving Israel, Lebanon and Iran is further hindering already stretched construction timelines in the Gulf. Safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz is threatened, with concerns that Iran will close the waterway. This route is critical to GCC oil and gas exports. Building projects in the Middle East suffered some […]

A US military helicopter escorts a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. The US has facilities at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar

Fears for Strait of Hormuz oil gateway in Iran-Israel face-off

The prospect of a sustained Iran-Israel conflict is raising concerns that Iran could respond by closing the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway critical to GCC oil and gas exports. Last month about 15 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude passed through the Strait of Hormuz, 36 percent of global seaborne oil exports, according to […]

A dip in oil prices followed a week of strong rises as regional concerns persist

Oil prices up after strongest weekly rise in over a year

Oil prices fell and then rose again on Monday after posting their steepest weekly rise in over a year last week. Brent crude futures fell to $77.74 per barrel before rising again to $79.14 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate dipped to $74.18 per barrel and then rose to $75.53 per barrel. Brent rose by […]

Iran Kharg Island

Iran’s energy installations may be targeted in Israeli strikes

Brent neared $79 a barrel on Friday, surging over 10 percent in a week, as markets and the wider world waited for a response to Iran’s attacking Israel with nearly 200 ballistic missiles on Tuesday. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu may order an attack on one of Iran’s major oil centres or less significant installations […]

Speaking at the Future Hospitality Summit, Accor's CEO Sébastien Bazin said safety of the company's teams is a priority regional tensions

Gulf hospitality industry shrugs off war concerns

Middle East hospitality veterans downplayed concerns over wider regional tensions this week, saying the industry has survived crises before and is poised to do so again. Government officials and corporate executives spoke during the Future Hospitality Summit, which is taking place in Dubai this week, just as military action intensified in Israel, Lebanon and Iran, […]

Israelis take shelter during Iran's missile attack. Oil prices have jumped over fears of a wider war

Oil prices jump 3% as Middle East conflict intensifies

Oil prices rose by more than 3 percent on Wednesday as Israel vowed retribution for Iran’s ballistic missile attack on its regional adversary. The conflict has intensified rapidly, with Israel also ordering more soldiers into Lebanon to battle the Iran-backed group Hezbollah. There is little sign of de-escalation despite international pleas. That has sent oil […]