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Philippines Taps Japan to Help Build Oil Reserve

Japan has agreed to help the Philippines establish a government-owned oil stockpile, while Manila is also pushing for a Southeast Asian reserve as ASEAN chair this year. "As part of this commitment, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the DOE agreed to advance cooperation under the Partnership for Wider Energy and Resources Resilience in Asia, focusing on the development of national stockpiling systems and the development of an ASEAN-wide joint stockpiling framework", the Philippine Department of Energy (DOE) said in an online statement. "The goal is simple: to ensure that the Philippines has sufficient fuel supply to withstand disruptions in the global market and to protect our economy, industries, and households from external shocks," DOE Secretary Sharon S. Garin said. On March 24 President Ferdinand Marcos Jr declared a one-year state of national energy emergency, citing "an imminent danger of a ...

Higher energy prices due to the Middle East war would slow economic growth globally

This year's Middle East war has driven up energy prices, disrupting economic activity around the world. If these effects persist for a year, they will slow global growth, hurting emerging economies more than advanced economies, according to a new PIIE Working Paper, "Global economic implications of the 2026 Middle East war." In this scenario, 2026 GDP would be lower than otherwise and inflation higher in most economies, but the effects would be spread unevenly: Countries more dependent on Middle Eastern oil, natural gas, and fertilizers would experience the largest hits to GDP. In emerging markets particularly, higher fertilizer costs reduce agricultural production, which accounts for a larger share of their economies. These conclusions result from a scenario in which oil prices surge for one year to around $120 per barrel, and prices double for liquefied natural gas and rise 75 percent ...

Oil Rebounds on Fresh Middle East Supply Risk Pricing

In a market analysis sent to Rigzone on Monday, Naeem Aslam, CIO at Zaye Capital Markets (ZCM), highlighted that Brent and West Texas Intermediate oil was up today "as oil rebounds on fresh Middle East supply risk pricing". Aslam outlined in the analysis that ZCM sees today's oil price move "as a geopolitical premium rather than a clean demand rally". "Oil is rising because traders are still pricing uncertainty around the Strait of Hormuz, supply routes, tanker movement, insurance costs, and the risk that military pressure interrupts physical barrels, even while some political comments suggest de-escalation," he added. Aslam noted in the analysis that U.S. President Donald Trump's comments are pulling oil in two directions and warned that traders are not pricing peace yet, "they are pricing fragile de-escalation". The ZCM representative went on to highlight that recent economic data is also shaping oil ...

Oil Prices Rise Over $4 After Israel Strikes Lebanon and Iran Petrochemical Plant

Oil prices jumped more than $4 on Monday, with investors spooked by fresh Israeli strikes on Iran as well as renewed attacks on Lebanon a day earlier. Brent crude futures rose $4.42 or 4.47% to $97.15 a barrel as of 0609 GMT, while U.S. crude futures were up $4.07 or 4.50% at $94.61 per barrel. Israel said on Monday it hit a petrochemical plant in Iran's southwest, along with strikes elsewhere on military targets. That's despite U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly telling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to refrain from further attacks. In the first hit on an energy site inside Iran since the April 8 ceasefire, Israel said it struck targets at the Mahshahr petrochemical complex. A provincial official told Iran's semi-official Fars news agency parts of the plant were damaged. Hopes are now eroding for an imminent end to the wider war ...

Israel Fires Back at Iran after Missile Attacks

Israel said it struck several military targets in Iran, retaliating against missile attacks by Tehran despite President Donald Trump's call for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to refrain from hitting back. The Israel Defense Forces said it struck targets in western and central Iran, with Iranian state media reporting multiple explosions in Tehran. A US official said the Israel strikes were "relatively limited" in their scope, Axios reported. The IDF said earlier it had identified and intercepted missiles fired from Iran, adding that emergency services reported no casualties. The exchange is one of the most serious tests of a ceasefire that took effect on April 8 to halt fighting involving the US, Israel and Iran. It comes as the US and Iran appear to be making little progress toward an interim agreement to end the war, even as Trump has repeatedly said a deal ...

GCC Patriot Interceptors Near-Zero on Day 100 Iran War

Every GCC country operating Patriot air defense — Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, and Bahrain — has reached near-zero interceptor inventory simultaneously on Day 100 of the Iran war, creating the first synchronized belt failure since Operation Epic Fury began on February 28. The concurrent depletion is qualitatively more dangerous than any individual country's shortage because each national collapse pushes its defensive burden onto Saudi Arabia's remaining 80 to 150 PAC-3 MSE rounds, accelerating the depletion of the belt's last functional reserve through gap-filling rather than direct attrition. In the first four days of Operation Epic Fury, US and GCC Patriot batteries fired 943 interceptors — equivalent to 18 months of output from Lockheed Martin's Camden, Arkansas facility, the only production line in the world for the PAC-3 MSE. No conflict since the 1973 Yom Kippur War has consumed air defense ammunition ...

Oil revenue at risk as Nigeria loses 5 rigs in 1 month

Nigeria's oil revenue outlook is facing fresh uncertainty following a sharp decline in drilling activity, with the country losing five active oil rigs within a month. The slump in the country's rig count has raised concerns over future crude production, government earnings and fiscal stability. A report by the African Energy Council (AEC) revealed that Nigeria's active rig count dropped from 17 in March to 12 in April 2026, representing a decline of nearly 30 per cent in just one month and signalling weakening upstream investment and exploration activities. Rig count, a key indicator of oil and gas exploration and production activities, measures the number of drilling rigs actively operating within a country or region. Industry experts often regard it as a leading indicator of future production levels. The development comes at a time when Nigeria is struggling to meet its crude oil ...

OPEC+ Agrees to 188,000 b/d July Target Hike — But Production Remains 8.5 Million b/d Below Target as Hormuz Stays Shut

The seven core OPEC+ members agreed on Sunday to another modest 188,000 b/d increase in their collective production target for July, despite the conflict in the Middle East continuing to disrupt supplies from several of the group's biggest producers. The increase mirrors that which the group — Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman — agreed to for June at its last meeting on 3 May. But it falls short of the 206,000 b/d increases from the two previous months — reflecting the UAE's late-April decision to exit both the OPEC and Opec+ alliances effective 1 May. According to the production schedule released by the group, Saudi Arabia and Russia will each increase output by 62,000 barrels per day in July, followed by Iraq with 26,000 bpd, Kuwait with 16,000 bpd, Kazakhstan with 10,000 bpd, Algeria with 6,000 bpd and ...

Israel says Iran launched a missile at it, in a first during fragile ceasefire

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel said Sunday that Iran has launched missiles at it in the first such bombardment since a fragile ceasefire took effect in early April, complicating mediation efforts for a deal to end the war. Iran's state broadcaster confirmed the launch of missiles and multiple explosions were heard in northern Israel. Israel's military said it was working on intercepting the missiles but "the defense is not hermetic," adding that sirens sounded in several areas of the country. Tehran had warned of retaliation after Israel on Sunday struck Beirut's southern suburbs without warning in defiance of Washington's request days ago to stand down. Israel called it retaliation for the Iranian-backed Hezbollah firing at northern Israel earlier in the day. Israel's attack on Beirut came a few days after the Lebanese and Israeli governments agreed to a ceasefire in U.S.-hosted talks, though Hezbollah ...

Venezuela is exporting more oil after the U.S. captured Maduro

Venezuela is exporting more oil, now five months after the U.S. seized President Nicolas Maduro. Venezuela has been steadily producing and exporting more oil, recently hitting a seven-year high. It adds up to billions of dollars in revenue, and it's being controlled by the United States. Both countries have promised transparency, but there are a lot of unanswered questions. Roxanna Vigil, a fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations and previously a senior sanctions policy adviser at the U.S. Treasury Department, has researched where the oil money is going. Based on her research into available data, there is a sense of where some of the oil exports the U.S. government is controlling are going, but the money flows remain opaque because the Trump administration has not shared comprehensive information. The little that is known comes largely from congressional testimony from Secretary Rubio ...

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