$100 oil
** Oil prices hit their highest in nearly two months on Thursday, rising for a fifth day after Yemen’s Houthis said they struck two Saudi oil tankers, widening disruption to global oil shipping through both the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude hit $100 for the first time since May.
Pipelines
** At least seven major pipeline projects are under construction in the Middle East, in the planning stage or being discussed as possibilities, according to government officials, oil companies and analysts. The war has been a wake-up call for Gulf oil producers, who are determined to become less dependent on a transit point that hugs Iran’s coast.
Pakistan
** Pakistan’s refiners are inquiring traders about potential crude oil supply from the U.S., Nigeria, Singapore, and central Asia, amid the escalating crisis in the Middle East that threatens supply from both the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.
Europe
** Europe is unlikely to refill its natural gas storage facilities to even 80% before winter, Equinor CEO Anders Opedal said on Wednesday, Reuters reported, raising the prospect that the continent will enter the heating season with its smallest supply buffer in years.
Japan
** Japan’s day-ahead spot electricity prices surged on Wednesday to the highest level in three and a half years as soaring fuel costs, heat waves, and a weakening Japanese currency have combined to push power prices higher this summer.
World
** Coal, gas and oil still generate 57% of the world’s electricity, down from 65% in 2000, according to Pew Research Center’s analysis of Ember data. Wind and solar now supply 17% of global electricity, more than triple their share a decade ago, but nuclear’s share has fallen from 17% to 9% since 2000.
US Energy
** Carbon dioxide emissions from the U.S. power sector rose by 4% in 2025 compared to the year prior, due to growth in electricity generation and coal use.
** Utilities, including NextEra Energy and Duke Energy, join President Donald Trump’s pledge to limit the AI boom from driving up electric bills for other consumers.
** Electra plans to build an $850 million factory in Springfield, Ohio, to produce its nine-passenger hybrid-electric plane, although the aircraft has not yet flown.
