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Pakistan Buys Second Spot LNG Cargo as Supply Crunch Persists

Pakistan has bought its second spot market LNG cargo in as many weeks, in a sign that flows of liquefied gas out of the Persian Gulf have been slow to recover. According to Bloomberg, the country bought the cargo from TotalEnergies at a price of $17.37 per million British thermal units, to be delivered between July 10 and 11. The price is also higher than what Pakistan LNG Ltd. bought last week from BP: that cargo was priced at $16.74 per mmBtu, a premium of some $1 over the Asian spot market average. Pakistan has relied on Qatar's term LNG supply for years, under long-term supply agreements. However, as the war in the Middle East led to the shutdown of Qatari LNG production and exports, the country had to look elsewhere for gas. Without Qatar's LNG, Pakistan was reeling from ...

Can the World Withstand Another Oil Shock After the Iran War?

The four month Iran war triggered the largest disruption to global oil supplies in modern history after Tehran restricted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz in response to United States and Israeli military strikes launched on February 28. At its peak, the conflict disrupted an estimated 14 million barrels of oil per day, according to the International Energy Agency, sparking fears of a prolonged global energy crisis. The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's most strategically important maritime chokepoints, carrying roughly one fifth of globally traded crude oil and petroleum products. Any disruption to shipping through the narrow waterway has historically led to sharp increases in oil prices and heightened concerns over energy security. Unlike previous oil crises, however, the global economy proved remarkably resilient. Governments coordinated unprecedented releases of strategic petroleum reserves, Gulf producers redirected exports through alternative routes ...

The Era of Cheap U.S. Natural Gas May Be Coming to an End

U.S. natural gas prices are set to rise through 2035, following a decade of low Henry Hub prices, as the AI data center boom and the expansion of U.S. LNG export infrastructure will underpin strong demand, analysts at Wood Mackenzie say. During the decade to 2025, the benchmark U.S. Henry Hub prices remained in a narrow range of between $2 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) and $4 per MMBtu, thanks to the surge in U.S. gas production as operators invested in standalone gas plays and boosted associated gas production from oil plays. Well productivity and technology gains have also helped raise domestic gas output. As a result, prices have remained low for most of the past decade, but the era of cheap U.S. gas may be coming to an end, WoodMac's analysts said in a new report this week. So what has ...

Australia Built a Gas Export Empire. Now the Backlash Is Here

Australia's liquefied natural gas exporters should be riding high on a A$20 billion ($14 billion) sales windfall from the conflict in the Middle East. Instead, their good fortune has triggered a wave of public backlash. A war-driven surge in profits has amplified complaints that ordinary Australians are being short-changed by its tax regime on LNG exports, with lawmakers from both ends of the political spectrum questioning why the gas-rich country remains exposed to high prices and potential shortages at home. This has been exacerbated by viral claims the country's beer drinkers pay more tax than its LNG producers. Australia's LNG export earnings for the fiscal year to June 2027 are forecast to hit A$65 billion ($45 billion), up more than 40% from an outlook made before the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz choked a fifth of global supply, according to the ...

America’s thirst for gasoline may not recover after Iran war

Judy Vassallo, an 89-year-old retired art teacher who lives on her own in a leafy neighborhood just north of Center City in Philadelphia, used to take her 2002 Honda CRV to the suburbs for a visit with friends, or downtown for doctor appointments and Pilates classes. But since gasoline prices shot up after the United States and Israel attacked Iran in late February, she couldn't stomach paying nearly twice as much to fill her tank. Instead, Vassallo started taking the city bus, which is free for older adults. She found that she liked it — saving on gas and parking tickets. "Once it becomes a habit, it's not an onerous thing, it's built into the pattern of my behavior," Vassallo said. "You're going into the city, you're going to take the bus. And I'm finding that it's so much easier." Americans ...

Russia’s fuel crisis is so bad that a mom and her baby waited in line for 18 hours to get gas

The fuel shortage ravaging Russia has forced motorists around the country to wait in endless lines to fill up, evoking memories of communist-era privation. Ukraine's months-long campaign of drone strikes on oil infrastructure deep inside Russian territory has forced refineries to shut down. Energy analysts have estimated that 25% or more of Russia's refining capacity has been taken offline by the attacks. The head of Russia's biggest oil company even called the damage to refineries "unprecedented," according to a letter to President Vladimir Putin that was leaked to Russian newspaper Kommersant. The long-range drones and widespread shortages mean Russian civilians far from the frontlines are suffering the effects of Putin's war on Ukraine. In the Siberian city of Irkutsk—about 3,000 miles from Ukraine—gas station lines are so long that local officials have vowed to provide portable toilets for Russians waiting along the road. One such ...

OPEC+ ratifies planned oil quota hike as Gulf flows rebound

Major OPEC+ members agreed another modest increase to their collective oil-production quotas for next month, adding to the prospect of more supply eventually hitting the market if a US-Iran peace pact can stick. Seven nations led by Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed at a video conference on Sunday to add 188,000 barrels a day to their output target, OPEC said in a statement on its website. It's in keeping with the group's plan to finish reversing output curbs made a few years ago, and means that since the war began, they've added 940,000 barrels a day to quotas — equivalent to almost 1 percent of global demand. Those increases have so far been theoretical because the war blocked the Strait of Hormuz and stopped Persian Gulf members from ramping up exports and output. However, since an interim peace pact between Tehran and ...

Energy Minister’s Fuel Update avoids statement on tanker GRAND WINNER 5 now idling offshore for 1 month and omits breakdown of forward fuel orders

In the previous update a week earlier on 27/6/26 released in front of the Energy Minister's electoral office in Fairfield a journo asked 2 important questions: JOURNALIST: "And just on fuel again, how many Export Finance Australia supported fuel orders have arrived in Australia since the EFA was given new powers in late March?" MINISTER BOWEN: "We've ordered around 800 million litres of diesel, and several hundred million litres of jet fuel as well. Several have arrived. I don't have the exact figure, but several have arrived others [inaudible]." JOURNALIST: "Can you clarify whether a tanker named the Grand Winner Five is sitting off Sydney's coast is one of those extra orders? And why has it been stuck offshore for weeks?" MINISTER BOWEN: "I'm not aware of that particular tanker, but I do know we are dealing with strength because a lot of our ...

EXPLAINER – From ‘oil state’ to fuel shortages: How Ukraine’s strikes are pressuring Russia’s energy sector

Russia has faced deepening fuel shortages since early June as Ukraine has intensified what it calls its "long-range sanctions" — long-range drone and missile strikes targeting the country's energy infrastructure. The attacks have forced Russian authorities to introduce fuel rationing across large parts of the country, draw on strategic reserves and consider the rare step of importing gasoline, highlighting the growing strain on Russia's domestic fuel market more than four years into the war. Fuel restrictions spread across Russia Russian authorities have imposed fuel sales restrictions in more than 40 regions, citing high demand and supply disruptions. The measures affect the Russian republics of Bashkortostan, Altai, Tatarstan, Dagestan, Chuvashia, Sakha and Adygea, among others. Sales limits vary by region and fuel supplier. The strictest restrictions have been imposed in Zabaykalsky Krai, where motorists are limited to 15 liters of gasoline per vehicle. In the Omsk region, ...

The War Premium Is Gone: Saudi Oil Revenue Crisis

Brent crude returns to pre-war $70/bbl as Hormuz reopens. Saudi Arabia's fiscal breakeven of $86.60 leaves a $15.78 gap on every barrel Aramco lifts. DHAHRAN — Brent crude fell to $70.82 per barrel on July 2 — below the $72.48 level recorded on February 27, the day before the US-Israel war on Iran began — erasing the entirety of a war premium that peaked at $126 in April. The OPEC+ Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee confirmed on July 5 a fifth consecutive monthly production increase of 188,000 barrels per day, lifting Saudi Arabia's individual quota to 10.35 million barrels per day. The kingdom's 2026 revenue model was constructed around oil priced well above $70. The IMF's December 2025 Article IV consultation placed the central government fiscal breakeven at $86.60 per barrel. Bloomberg Economics puts the composite figure — incorporating off-balance-sheet obligations from the ...

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