A soldier stands on the guided-missile destroyer USS Paul Hamilton in the Strait of Hormuz
Shipping shrugs off Hormuz Strait incidents
Despite contradictory claims of increased tensions in Mideast Gulf waters and possible rapprochement between the US and Iran, the situation appears business as usual for freight
Washington and Tehran are once again in talks. The discussions are not public but likely address issues such as prisoners, regional conflicts and tensions, the US-led sanctions on Iran and the Islamic Republic’s a ambitions. And while the enmity between the two countries might seem impossible to bridge, the two parties were able to reach a wide-ranging accommodation relatively recently. The 2015 JCPOA deal loosened sanctions in exchange for Iran halting its nuclear projects, although of course that deal was subsequently scrapped when the Republicans retook the White House. But for a brief window while the JCPOA was in place, Iranian crude flowed into the market, including deliveries to Europ
Also in this section
9 September 2024
We pick up the story of the history of oil with the response of consumer countries to the 1973 embargo, with the creation of the IEA proving the adage that every action has a reaction
9 September 2024
Continuing our 90th anniversary deep dive into the history of oil, the first part of our second chapter covers the post-war world and the beginnings of OPEC
9 September 2024
While greater focus on decarbonisation is likely, economic pressures and huge debt burden could squeeze energy policy ambitions
5 September 2024
The 20th century’s two global conflicts made clear the geopolitical importance of oil, while Russia and Saudi Arabia joined the US as hydrocarbons superpowers
