Rigzone

Oil rose the most in three weeks as tensions spiked in the Middle East, with the US and Iran exchanging strikes for the first time in about a month and fighting appearing poised to continue. West Texas Intermediate futures rose 2.8% to settle near $86 a barrel after American forces hit an island in the Strait of Hormuz and the Islamic Republic responded by launching attacks on the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. stepped up warnings of tightness in global refining driven by wars in the Middle East and between Moscow and Kyiv, with the bank more than doubling its forecasts for profits from making diesel. “Rising strikes on refineries in the Middle East and Russia have further constrained already-stretched global refining capacity, pushing refined-products margins to new highs,” analysts including Yulia Zhestkova Grigsby and Daan Struyven said in a note.

OPAL Fuels Inc has completed a renovation at its recently acquired fueling station in Goshen, California, adding 1.7 million gallons of gasoline equivalent (GGE) capacity for renewable natural gas (RNG) and compressed natural gas (CNG) refueling. "The enhanced facility is expected to dispense approximately 14 million gasoline gallon equivalents of RNG and CNG over the next decade", White Plains, New York-based OPAL Fuels, a biofuel producer for heavy duty trucking, said in a press release.

Italy's Eni SpA has signed an agreement with a subsidiary of Argentina's YPF SA and Uruguay's ANCAP for Eni's entry into the OFF-5 exploration license. Eni will acquire a 50 percent operating stake in the block off Uruguay's Atlantic coast while YPF will retain 50 percent through its subsidiary MIWEN, Eni and ANCAP said in separate statements. "The OFF-5 block is currently in its first exploration period, and studies are underway to mature the area's hydrocarbon potential", Eni said.

Equinor announced, in a statement posted on its site recently, that it has made a change to its board of directors. According to the statement, Finn Bjørn Ruyter has decided to leave his position on the board and prioritize his responsibilities as CEO of Hafslund and in other board positions. The change will take effect on September 1, Equinor revealed.

An independent expert opinion has found Hemen Holding Ltd's "mandatory offer" for the shares of Northern Ocean Ltd (NOL) it does not already own "is not fair from a financial point of view to the shareholders of NOL". Hamilton, Bermuda-domiciled international offshore drilling contractor NOL, which manages its operations from Stavanger, Norway, said in an online statement SB1 Markets AS had been cleared by the Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority to issue the opinion.

Asian refiners have increased purchases of Argentinian crude as the Iran war disrupts supply from the Middle East and drives competition for barrels from other regions. Processors in Japan, South Korea and China bought Argentina’s Medanito oil in recent weeks, with at least one cargo loaded earlier this month, said traders familiar with the matter, asking not to be named as they’re not authorized to speak to the media.

In a statement posted on his Truth Social page late Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. had “just entered into an Agreement with the Country of Venezuela on ... THE BIGGEST OIL DEAL IN WORLD HISTORY!”.

In a market analysis sent to Rigzone on Monday, Naeem Aslam, CIO at Zaye Capital Markets, noted that Brent and WTI oil prices were being supported by renewed geopolitical risk around the Strait of Hormuz. “The immediate bullish force is supply-security uncertainty,” Aslam warned in the analysis. “U.S.-Iran tensions have increased the risk premium attached to Gulf barrels because the Strait remains one of the world’s most important energy corridors,” he added.

Rosneft Oil Co has reported RUB 200 billion (around $2.31 billion) in net profit attributable to shareholders for the first six months of 2026, down from RUB 245 billion for the first half (H1) of 2025 despite higher production. "The decline in income was due to a number of non-cash and one-off factors, including foreign exchange differences and assets impairment", the Russian state-owned company said in an online statement.