Oil and gas

A general view shows the Awad oil field in the eastern Qamishli countryside in northeastern Syria, on Feb. 9, 2026.

Explainer

Oil’s slide wavers as Trump warns US-Iran deal ‘not final’

Brent crude prices briefly jumped back above $80 per barrel on Wednesday as traders digested conflicting signals about efforts to end the war and reopen Hormuz.

Amirhossein KHORGOOEI / ISNA / AFP via Getty Images

3 Iranian tankers with 4.8M barrels of oil pass US blockade: What to know

At least three US-sanctioned Iranian-flagged tankers have exited the Gulf of Oman as the Trump administration eyes Tehran's moves ahead of sanctions waivers expected to begin Friday.

Jared Szuba

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

A general view shows the Awad oil field in the eastern Qamishli countryside in northeastern Syria, on February 9, 2026. (Photo by Amjad Kurdo / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images)

Exclusive

US firm HKN Energy takes over 7 oil fields from Syria's Kurds

HKN Energy has begun operating seven oil fields under a 25-year agreement with Damascus, marking the first major production-sharing deal between Syria's new government and an international oil company.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Scott Olson/Getty Images

Explainer

US strategic oil stockpile nears four-decade low as Iran war drags on

The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell to 349.2 million barrels amid the global energy shock caused by the war in Iran.

Latest News

Syria says Iraqi oil shipments surge as Damascus courts foreign energy investment

A long convoys of Iraqi diesel-laden tanker trucks line up along the highway Tartus-Baniyas highway as they wait to unload their cargo at the Baniyas port refinery on the Mediterranean Sea, on April 15, 2026.

Explainer

Venezuela’s Delcy Rodriguez meets Erdogan in surprise Turkey visit: What to know

https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/06/will-pashinyans-victory-armenia-be-enough-unlock-peace-turkey-azerbaijan

Algeria begins work on Trans-Saharan gas pipeline to Europe

BOUREIMA HAMA/AFP via Getty Images

Oman denies disruption at key oil hub after reported drone attack

AFP via Getty Images

Egyptian workers wait for clients at a petrol station on July 5, 2014, in Cairo as the government drastically raised fuel prices to tackle a bloated subsidy system.

Egypt again raises fuel prices

The price of Brent crude oil actually recently fell to its lowest point in several months.

US President Joe Biden disembarks from his plane upon landing at Ben Gurion Airport,

Analysis

The Takeaway: Biden opens ‘new chapter’ with Middle East trip

Energy company touts oil for food for Syria; Ukraine’s ambassador in Turkey talks Russia; Iran’s unprecedented inflation; oil stoves make comeback in Lebanon; Sudanese civilians skeptical of moves by military leaders; and more.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Andrew Parasiliti

By Elizabeth Hagedorn , Andrew Parasiliti

Iraqi Aqeel Hassan, one of the owners of private electric generators, is pictured on July 17, 2021, at his business in Baghdad's Sadr City.

Iraq diversifies, expands sources of energy and electricty

Iraq is looking to Arab partners to help expand energy production and imports to meet summer demand.

NIKOLAY DOYCHINOV/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey looks to import gas from Turkmenistan, test exports to Bulgaria

Turkey and Turkmenistan are working on a gas deal that will likely extend to Europe in a bid to reduce Western dependency on Russian gas.

A general view taken on January 6, 2015, shows the Mellitah Oil and Gas terminal on the outskirts of Zwara in western Libya.

Reports: Libya denies cutting gas exports to Italy

Italy wants Libya to boost its gas exports to Europe in an effort to reduce the continent’s energy dependence on Russia.

RAMI AL SAYED/AFP via Getty Images

Energy company touts oil-for-food scheme as Syrian aid route tightens

With Syria's sole remaining route for cross-border aid in peril, a London-based oil company is lobbying for an initiative that would see the proceeds of Syrian oil being used for aid, with the money going to the UN rather than Damascus.

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian gives a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

US unveils fresh sanctions on Iranian oil trade network

The Biden administration designated 15 individuals and entities located in Iran, Vietnam, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong.

The beach in Beit Lahia looks out on the towers of an Israeli power plant in the city of Ashkelon, Gaza Strip, Dec. 15, 2021.

Egypt ready to help with Gaza Marine natural gas field

Palestnian officials claim the project has been complicated by Israel, which controls the coastal waters off Gaza.

STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images

Biden says he won't ask Saudi Arabia to pump more oil during trip

President Joe Biden also downplayed his expected meetings with Saudi leaders, including Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Syria gas

Egypt ready to export gas to Lebanon once US grants waiver

Egypt plans to export the agreed-upon 650 million cubic meters of natural gas annually in order to alleviate Lebanon's energy shortage.

Algeria's President Abdelmadjid Tebboune speaks.

Algeria to maintain gas supplies to Spain despite dispute

Algeria's announcement concerning the immediate suspension of the treaty of friendship and good neighborliness concluded with Spain in October 2002, after Madrid’s radical change of position on the Western Sahara issue on March 18, will not have negative consequences on gas contracts signed by the two countries.

Palestinian bread baker

World Bank official: Lebanon, Yemen, Syria most food-insecure in region

Many states across the Middle East and North Africa meet the criteria for food insecurity, experts said at a US Institute of Peace event.