Energy News

The world's oil tanker fleet is behaving as if the Strait of Hormuz is reopening — even as the waterway itself remains only partially navigable and politically contested. From ship tracking data to freight rates, the signals are clear: owners and charterers are moving early to position vessels for a return to Gulf exports.But the gap between expectation and reality remains wide, leaving the global oil shipping system in a fragile middle ground between crisis and recovery.The most immediate evidence of adjustment lies in real-time vessel movements.

The offshore energy industry is in the midst of a new investment cycle, driven by major developments in South America, renewed demand for energy security and an increasing reliance on digital technologies to improve asset performance. For Matt Tremblay, Senior Vice President, Global Offshore at the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), the opportunities are significant — but so are the challenges.Speaking with Offshore Engineer in Houston, Tremblay described an industry that is “very busy…

On 29 May 2026, Vantage Drilling International and Eldorado Drilling signed a merger agreement under which Eldorado will acquire Vantage, making it a wholly owned subsidiary. As part of the transaction, Vantage shareholders will receive $19 per share in cash, valuing the company at approximately $257.6 million. The combined entity will continue to operate under the name Vantage Drilling International.Post-transaction, the company’s fleet will comprise four drillships - including…

While oil and gas are once again flowing through the Strait of Hormuz, the closure of the vital waterway for over 100 days could prove to be a turning point in global energy markets. The Arab oil embargo of 1973, a similarly disruptive supply shock, offers clues about where we might be headed.The latest Middle East crisis tested the limits of the modern energy system, which has evolved over recent decades into a highly interconnected global market held together by thousands of tankers…

Equinor has decided to end its offshore wind business activities in Japan, where it has been since 2018 but has failed to win any leases in successive auctions, and close its Tokyo office by the end of 2026.Orsted, the world's largest offshore wind developer, exited Japan in 2024 and Equinor has previously scaled back offshore wind development in markets including Vietnam, Spain, Portugal and France, citing rising costs.Offshore wind projects globally have been hit by rising costs and persistent supply chain constraints."This decision reflects a reassessment of Equinor's strategic direction, w

How well do we really understand the electrical systems powering today’s vessels? Many of us realize how important electricity is to our modern world but may be a bit shaky on the specifics. The Welsh comedian Tommy Cooper once joked, "Electricity is a wonderful thing. Do you realize that if we didn't have electricity, we'd be watching television by candlelight?"For those who have worked on vessels for many years, the increasing complexity may be a sore point, especially for those who have been hands-on in their careers and been zapped a few times.

Offshore floating solar company SolarDuck and the Maritime Research Institute Netherlands (MARIN) have been awarded a USD$3.64 million (€3.2 million) subsidy from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) for the Steady Seas research program. The project will advance the foundational design of SolarDuck's Offshore Floating Power & Utility Hub (OFPH), a single-platform offshore solar solution developed to provide reliable power, communications and other utilities to remote offshore and subsea assets.As offshore energy activity moves further from shore…

For decades, floating nuclear power occupied a niche position in the energy debate – technically feasible, strategically intriguing, but commercially marginal. Today, however, combined pressures of decarbonization, energy security, land constraints, rising electricity demand and water scarcity are making floating nuclear power a more serious proposition for policymakers, utilities, and infrastructureFloating Nuclear offers a potential source of reliable, low-carbon electricity and heat (and…

Faced with declining production post-2030, across Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the Majors have started the process of reloading exploration hoppers. Targeting predominantly deep and ultra-deep waters, they have signed numerous agreements aimed at unlocking acreage and discovering the next Namibia or Guyana. But while there have been agreements for acreage that were offered as part of traditional licensing rounds – such as the award to TotalEnergies of PPLs 2000 and 2001 in Nigeria in September 2025 – there has been an increasing trend to sign Memorandums of Understanding (MoU)…

Italy's business lobby Confindustria has called for emergency action from the government to speed up the roll-out of renewable energy in the country, which is grappling with much higher power costs than in most of Europe.The recent increase in gas prices triggered by the Iran war has highlighted the cost for Italian families and firms of the slow development of renewables, and sparked fresh calls for more decisive action to promote green policies.Confindustria President Emanuele…

U.S. energy shares fell on Monday as crude prices dropped after Washington and Tehran agreed terms to end their months-long conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil transit chokepoint.The U.S. and Iran will sign a memorandum of understanding in Switzerland on Friday, said the prime minister of Pakistan, which helped mediate talks between the two sides.U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday the Strait of Hormuz, which carries roughly a fifth of global oil consumption, would be open "toll free" and that a U.S.

BP has started a process to sell stakes in two of its Gulf of America projects, four people with knowledge of the matter said, in what would be one of new CEO Meg O'Neill's first moves.BP, one of the largest operators in the Gulf of America, has been weighing a sale of minority stakes in the Kaskida and Tiber projects for more than a year, with each estimated to be worth billions of dollars to the company, Reuters has previously reported.The four people did not give the size of…

Siemens Energy on Thursday warned of possible wind turbine capacity cuts in Europe if governments fall behind in efforts to expand offshore power, saying a lack of determination could become an "existential threat" to the industry.The comments by one of Europe's biggest industrial firms reflect growing concerns about the future of the continent's manufacturing capabilities, which have come under intense pressure from high energy costs and Asian competitors.Europe is currently facing delays in its offshore expansion, hampered by regulatory challenges that have caused some developers to rethink

"During April to May, Western Africa’s clean petroleum product (CPP) imports fell 44% year on year, from 1,144 thousand barrels per day (kbpd) to 642 kbpd,” says Niels Rasmussen, Chief Shipping Analyst at BIMCO.The drop in import volumes cut tonne miles by 47% year on year, lowering the region’s share of global CPP tonne miles from 5.3% to 3.6%. LR1 and LR2 product tankers recorded the largest declines, down 88% and 78% respectively, and together accounted for 55% of the total tonne miles loss.MR product tanker tonne miles fell only 4% year on year during April to May…

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Tuesday that ship traffic in the Gulf and oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz are rising even as Washington and Tehran struggle to reach a deal on ending their more than three-month-old war."I would say rising very meaningfully," Wright said when asked how ship traffic is flowing through the strait compared to a week or two ago. He said oil exports through the strait and the Gulf have risen and "will continue to rise."Wright made…

Seven U.S. states led by New York sued the Trump administration on Tuesday for cancelling a major offshore wind lease off the coast of New York in exchange for a pledge by its owner to invest instead in fossil fuel projects.The lawsuit in the Washington, D.C., federal court challenges a March 23 decision by the U.S. Department of the Interior to cancel a lease by a subsidiary of France's TotalEnergies, "reimburse" $795 million to the company, and extract a pledge from the company…

Western Australian premier Roger Cook said on Wednesday he had been "assured" by federal Resources Minister Madeleine King that a new government policy of reserving 20% of gas output for domestic use would not harm his state's large LNG industry."Maddie King is a very good friend of mine, she's my local member of parliament (and) we’ve talked at length about this and she is determined to make sure that it doesn’t have an adverse impact in terms of Western Australia’s established practice…

Equinor has seen a surge in interest for energy exports out of Norway from customers as far afield as Australia after the Iran war curbed exports of petroleum and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Gulf, the energy group said on Wednesday.The conflict has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a choke point for energy exports from producers in the Gulf, especially affecting clients in Asia.The closure has resulted in the loss of 12 million barrels of oil per day and has also hit the supply of refined products such as diesel and jet fuels…

The gap between supply and demand is widening as global energy systems face strain, Guyana's President Irfaan Ali said on Monday, as the Iran warenters its third month and continues to drive up oil and gas prices amid supply shortages.Energy markets have been reeling since the start of the war, which has caused damage to infrastructure across the Middle East and led to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key trade chokepoint. Oil prices have climbed above $100 a barrel and global trade flows have shifted as some nations scramble to secure supply.

President Donald Trump's administration has brought U.S.

Direct Travel announced the expansion of Avenir, its global travel platform across its specialty market divisions, including Energy, Marine and Mining. Delivered through ATPl's specialist businesses, Avenir provides a single global platform and unified service model for executive and project-based business travel complementing the company's sector specific logistics and workforce mobility solutions.With this expansion, organizations operating in complex and logistically demanding environments will benefit from a more consistent and scalable approach to business travel…

President Donald Trump's administration said on Monday that it had reached a deal to end two more U.S. offshore wind leases in exchange for $885 million in pledged investments in domestic fossil fuels.The projects, one in the Atlantic and one in the Pacific, are managed by Ocean Winds, a joint venture between France's ENGIE and Portugal's EDP Renewables.The announcement comes a month after French energy giant TotalEnergies reached a similar agreement with the Interior Department to redirect $1 billion from offshore wind leases to U.S. oil and gas production.

A federal judge on Tuesday blocked President Donald Trump's administration from enforcing a series of permitting policies that wind and solar energy industry groups say have stymied the development of new energy generation projects.Chief U.S. District Judge Denise Casper in Boston issued a preliminary injunction sought by nine advocacy groups and industry trade associations that argued the administration had imposed unlawful roadblocks that have halted the development of wind and solar energy projects nationwide.The judge said the plaintiffs were likely to succeed in showing the U.S.