U.S. not included
Iran is continuing talks with Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia to hammer out an agreement on how cargo traffic through the Strait of Hormuz will be handled once the dust of the war with the U.S. settles. The U.S. will apparently be kept out of any such agreement.
Oil price drop
** Brent crude fell 10.6% last week in a third consecutive weekly decline after crude shipments through the strait rose to their highest since the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran began in late February.
Renewables grow
** Renewables — mostly solar — were the largest source of global energy supply growth for the first time outside of a recession last year, a major new data release finds. The findings were reported by the Energy Institute’s annual Statistical Review of World Energy.
Oil problems
** Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged for the first time on Sunday that his country was facing a “certain deficit” of fuel, as Ukraine continues to strike Russian energy infrastructure, setting fire to yet another major oil refinery in the south
US Energy
** President Trump warned Monday night that “big problems lie ahead!” for gasoline retailers if prices don’t fall faster, and that they should target $2.50 per gallon.
** California motorists are set to pay even more at the pump starting Wednesday as another gas tax increase takes effect, prompting some of the state’s Republican lawmakers to warn that added costs will further squeeze residents already shouldering some of the highest fuel prices in the nation.
** The Interior Department is giving $129 million to utility heavyweight Duke Energy to abandon its North Carolina offshore wind lease, alongside a Duke pledge to reinvest the money in other energy sources.
