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

Lebanese wait to fill their gas cylinders in the southern city of Sidon amidst a deepening economic crisis, on Aug. 10, 2021.

Lebanese energy plan includes Syria

A meeting of Jordanian, Egyptian, Lebanese and Syrian ministers seems to have cracked Syria's isolation.

A general view shows an oil refinery in Libya's northern town of Ras Lanuf on Jan. 11, 2017.

Power struggle over oil threatens Libya's fragile transition process

Oil production shutdowns are increasingly likely as several players in the sector push their own agenda.

Lebanese soldiers are pictured at a petrol station in the capital Beirut on Aug. 14, 2021, after soldiers were deployed to force several stations to reopen their doors.

Egypt, Jordan, Syria agree to export gas to crisis-stricken Lebanon

Syria also agreed to transfer Jordanian electricity to Lebanon, while Iran already sent fuel.

ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images

Iranian tanker carrying fuel for Lebanon to dock in Syria

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah promised Iranian vessels would bring fuel to Lebanon amid its harrowing energy crisis.

Youths ride donkeys near a US military vehicle crossing a stream polluted by an oil spill near the village of Sukayriyah, in the countryside south of Rumaylan (Rmeilan) in the Kurdish-controlled northeastern Hasakeh province, Syria, July 19, 2020.

Syrian oil spill could hit Cyprus soon

The leakage came from a power plant in Syria's coastal city of Baniyas.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu gives a joint press conference with his Jordanian counterpart at the foreign ministry headquarters in Amman on August 17, 2021.

Russian rebuke of Turkey for Crimea support highlights Ankara's delicate balancing act

Turkey's support for Crimea also highlights the growing value of Ukraine and Crimea for Ankara.

Lebanese soldiers stand next to a truck carrying a multiple rocket launcher after confiscating it

Iran, Hezbollah, Lebanon top Bennett's agenda with Biden

Israel fears that Iran and Hezbollah will take advantage of the economic and political crisis in Lebanon to tighten their hold on the country.

burn victim carried on stretcher

Egypt sends medical aid to Lebanon following fuel tank explosion

At least 28 people who were trying to obtain fuel died when a tank exploded in northern Lebanon, prompting angry locals to burn the house of the site owner.

AL-MONITOR Staff

By AL-MONITOR Staff

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images

Intel: US sanctions oil broker reportedly linked to Iran’s Quds Force

Mv Mercer Street

Iran again denies involvement in Gulf maritime incident

The British military said a bitumen tanker off the coast of the UAE experienced a "potential hijacking," prompting a denial from Iran. Israel and the UK also blamed Iran for a drone attack last week that killed two crew members on an oil tanker.

DONT USE - Gulf Pulse

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

Amid Iranian gas shortage, Iraq searches for alternatives

Iran's dilapidated gas infrastructure has limited its transfers to Iraq, adding to Iraq's own energy crisis.

Iraqi workers walk at the Halfaya oil field near the southern city of Amara on Dec. 12, 2009.

Chinese oil companies fill void in Iraq

As major Western oil companies reconsider their positions in Iraq, China is seizing the opportunities offered by their departure.