Masoud Suleman, chairman of Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC), said the North African country had significant untapped resources and more than 60 discovered oil and gas fields that had yet to be developed. Libya currently produces about 1.4 million bpd and holds Africa’s largest proven crude reserves, estimated at about 48 billion barrels.

The investment drive comes after years of political instability, conflict, export blockades and underinvestment following the 2011 overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi. Libya remains divided between rival authorities in the east and west, while armed groups continue to influence parts of the country. Many of its major oilfields and export terminals are located in areas controlled by eastern military commander Khalifa Haftar.

Security risks remain a major obstacle. A recent drone attack on the Zawiya refinery damaged fuel storage facilities and disrupted operations, while an attack on a nearby power substation caused outages. US company GE suspended work at a nearby power plant and withdrew technical teams because of security concerns.

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TotalEnergies prioritised paying down debt, cutting gearing to 13%, and lifted its dividend by 5.9%. Among the shale producers, only Diamondback has explicitly tied higher prices to higher activity. Boards that lived through the busts of 2015 and 2020 are treating this as a cash event rather than a growth signal, which is a fairly clear statement about how long they expect it to last.

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Green energy-focused private equity firm ⁠Qualitas Energy and Wren House, the infrastructure arm of Kuwait’s sovereign wealth fund Kuwait Investment Authority, have teamed up for the bid, claimed a report from the Financial Times (FT).

BP has been doubling down on efforts to simplify its operations, while refocusing on traditional oil and gas to reduce debt, boost profit and return on investment after a miscalculated foray into renewables under Bernard Looney in 2020, under which the company promised to reduce its oil and gas production by 40% by 2030 and aimed for zero net emissions by 2050.

With new CEO Meg O’Neill firmly taking over the proceedings, BP has been having a busy July in terms of making its organization lean. Last week, it signed an agreement to sell its minority interests in more than 10 ‌companies in ⁠its venture arm, under its USD 20 billion divestment plan.

BP’s Lightsource, which was central to a hefty impairment charge flagged in early 2026, has already spun off its offshore wind business, apart from abandoning plans to ⁠build biofuels and hydrogen plants in Amsterdam, Australia, and the United Kingdom, respectively.

The energy major will also be selling its Austrian mobility, ‌convenience, and electric vehicle (EV) charging businesses to Volenergy AG. The move will be the fourth in line, after sales of similar businesses in the Netherlands in 2025, Turkey in 2024, and Switzerland in 2022.

The agreement with Volenergy AG, expected to be completed by the 2026 end, includes 250 BP-branded retail sites as well as electric vehicle charging ‌infrastructure. BP ⁠will sell 100% of its shares in BP Retail Austria GmbH (subject to regulatory approvals) and its shares in three non-operated joint ⁠ventures.

Volenergy AG operates the largest network of fuel stations in Switzerland, with more than 730 ⁠locations. It acquired BP’s Swiss retail network in 2022.

O’Neill, who started in the top job in April, said a couple of weeks back that BP needs to prioritize financial discipline by simplifying its portfolio, cutting costs, and tightening capital spending, while refocusing on its core oil and gas investments.

The British major’s venturing arm, BP Ventures, which began in 2007, had 27 companies ⁠in its portfolio till the divestment took the fifth gear in July. These included projects related to artificial intelligence (AI), electric vehicles, and hydrogen.

Since O’Neill has taken over BP’s leadership reins, the energy major has also gone through the unpleasant removal of its chair, Albert Manifold, over bullying allegations. Amid the instability in its board, the venture is currently working to rebuild investor trust by cutting costs and debt.

The CEO reportedly wants to be more selective in its investment decisions ⁠as it works through its strategy reset after the painful renewables experiment.

“We need to be deliberate about where we invest and where we don’t. We need to make fewer, better choices and hold ourselves to account,” O’Neill said in a LinkedIn post on the 100th day of her being in the role.

She has laid out three priorities to make BP simpler and more valuable: operational excellence, improved accountability, and strong discipline in costs, cash, and capital.

BP’s reorganization into two business segments, upstream and downstream, from three, went into effect at the start of this month. As per O’Neill, the move will help reduce complexity at the energy major, with trading connecting the ‌upstream ⁠and downstream businesses.

The current divestment strategy involves prioritizing debt reduction in order to improve cash flow and reshape the overall portfolio further.

The start of O’Neill’s tenure also coincided with the Iran war, which has disrupted the global energy market with little shipping ⁠traffic going through the crucial maritime chokehold called the Strait of Hormuz. The crisis, however, helped boost BP’s results in the first quarter, with profit more than doubling to USD 3.2 billion.

“BP’s trading and shipping teams worked with its refining unit to deliver an extra 50 ⁠million liters of diesel from the Cherry Point refinery in Washington state to Sydney to help increase supplies in Australia,” O’Neill said on LinkedIn.

The energy major’s Castellon refinery in Spain has also increased jet fuel output by 30% ahead of Europe’s summer travel season in response to the crisis.

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The 800km pipeline, largely out of service since the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, has emerged as a strategic priority after the Iran conflict exposed the vulnerability of the Gulf’s main energy corridor.

Temporary disruptions in Hormuz sent oil prices soaring and renewed concerns over the security of one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, through which roughly a fifth of global oil supplies pass.

US Special Envoy Tom Barrack has held discussions with Iraqi and Syrian officials, as well as energy companies including Chevron, on rebuilding the pipeline, which would carry crude from Iraq’s Kirkuk fields to the Syrian port of Baniyas. The project forms part of a broader US strategy to strengthen regional energy security while expanding opportunities for American companies.

The renewed interest coincides with closer ties between Washington, Baghdad, and Syria’s new leadership. During Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi’s visit to the White House, President Donald Trump said new energy agreements involving US companies would be announced in the coming weeks.

For Iraq, OPEC’s second-largest producer, new export routes have become increasingly important. The country remains heavily dependent on southern Gulf terminals and the pipeline to Turkey’s Ceyhan port, while years of conflict and aging infrastructure have limited diversification. Baghdad has also appointed Houston-based engineering firm KBR to advise on a proposed pipeline linking Basra to Haditha, with potential branches to Syria, Turkey, and Jordan.

The revival of the Kirkuk-Baniyas route could also enhance Syria’s role as a regional energy hub. The Baniyas terminal offers direct access to Mediterranean markets, attracting interest from international companies, including Chevron and TotalEnergies, as Western sanctions on Syria continue to ease.

However, significant obstacles remain. Much of the pipeline would require reconstruction after decades of neglect, potentially costing billions of dollars. Proposed routes also pass through areas where Islamic State cells remain active, raising security concerns for investors. Analysts also warn that Iran-backed militias could oppose the project, viewing it as an attempt to weaken Tehran’s regional influence.

Despite those risks, industry experts believe alternative export corridors will become increasingly valuable as geopolitical tensions reshape global energy supply chains and buyers seek more resilient routes to market.

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The investment, announced at the 25th NOG Energy Week Conference and Exhibition on 8 July, marks ExxonMobil’s return to drilling operations in Nigeria after nearly a decade, with its last drilling campaign in the country conducted in 2016. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, chief executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), described the announcement as a significant development for the country’s upstream oil sector, noting that Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria, an ExxonMobil affiliate, had not drilled in Nigeria since that campaign.

The project falls within Oil Mining Lease 138 and involves on-block operations at the Usan field, which Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria operates under a production sharing contract alongside the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, with Chevron, TotalEnergies, and Nexen, a subsidiary of the China National Offshore Oil Corporation, as co-venture partners.

The Usan field was discovered in 2002 and developed in water depths of 2,400 feet using a floating production, storage, and offloading vessel and 42 subsea wells, comprising 23 production wells and 19 water and gas injection wells connected to a two-million-barrel-capacity FPSO. First oil was produced in February 2012, when the field had a gross production capacity of up to 180,000 barrels per day.

The investment comes as Nigeria, one of Africa’s largest crude producers and an OPEC member, seeks to reverse years of declining output through regulatory reform and renewed investment. The African country has faced persistent challenges, including oil theft, pipeline vandalism, and underinvestment, prompting the government to accelerate project approvals and encourage fresh capital inflows into the sector.

In a separate development, the NUPRC issued petroleum prospecting licenses to successful applicants from the 2022/2023 Mini Bid Round and the 2024 Nigeria Licensing Round. A total of 12 companies received 19 licenses covering deep offshore, shallow water, and continental shelf areas, with Broron Energy, Petroli Energy Marketing and Supply, Sahara Deepwater Resources, and Tulcan Energy among those receiving awards, underscoring the breadth of opportunities on offer in Nigeria’s licensing rounds.

Apart from its big-ticket investment in Nigeria, Exxon, in partnership with QatarEnergy, has entered Cyprus as well through a deal signed with the Mediterranean country’s government. Prospects of two offshore gas fields have been declared marketable, a milestone in efforts by the ‌East Mediterranean island to develop its energy reserves.

The “Declaration of Marketability” signed in Nicosia has advanced a project central to the region’s ambitions to supply more gas to Europe.

ExxonMobil has reported discoveries in two offshore blocks in fields known as Glaucus and ⁠Pegasus. As per the company and the Cypriot officials, the combined discoveries could be between eight and nine trillion cubic feet.

The “Declaration of Marketability,” according to the Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides, “represents a major step towards establishing the Eastern Mediterranean as a credible alternative energy corridor for Europe.”

“Some additional drilling on the two offshore fields would be required before moving into the front-end engineering and ‌design (FEED),” the administration added further.

“A final investment decision is anticipated around 2029 and production in 2033,” remarked ExxonMobil Vice President and head of global expansion John Ardill.

QatarEnergy signed a preliminary deal with ExxonMobil and Egypt’s government in May 2026 to study ⁠the development and commercialization of gas discoveries in Cyprus using Egypt’s existing gas and LNG infrastructure.

“The reserves from Pegasus and Glaucus would probably be ⁠delivered with a pipeline tie-back to Egypt,” Ardill concluded.

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The jump in Kuwaiti crude oil output ⁠also indicates that energy trade, the lifeline of the Middle East’s key economies, through the Strait of Hormuz is recovering rapidly following disruption caused by the Iran war, with stranded cargoes gradually clearing the strategically important maritime chokehold and exporters restoring production.

It is worth mentioning that around USD 600 billion in energy trades used to pass through the Strait of Hormuz on an annual basis till the beginning of 2026. This key water route daily handles about 20 million barrels of crude oil and petroleum and up to 20% of global liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Kuwait was producing a crude volume of 2.5 million bpd before Iran’s closure of the Strait in response to the American and Israeli airstrikes at the end of February. The disruption prompted the country and other Gulf producers like Saudi Arabia and Iraq to cut millions of barrels per day of oil output.

With the war now coming to an end and things normalising at the Hormuz, daily production in the last 10 ‌days ⁠of June rose to as high as 1.9 million bpd, claimed a Reuters report. As oil production and trade recover quickly, it has directly affected the crude price, with the Brent futures and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) trading at USD 71.87 and USD 68.63, respectively.

State oil company Kuwait Petroleum Corporation has already lifted all force majeure notices issued during the war, while a tender document on June 19 showed the company offering cargoes to buyers.

The recovery in energy flows augurs well for Kuwait, which was ⁠one of the hardest-hit countries in the Gulf by the Iran war due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Unlike Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which ⁠can use export routes other than the Strait, Kuwait relies almost entirely on the waterway for its crude exports, leaving it effectively cut off from key markets such as Asia during the disruption.

Leaving behind the war-related disruptions, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) is now focusing on raising fresh capital by asking global funds bidding for a USD 7 billion stake in its oil pipeline network to recruit other investors to ‌help consolidate bids. The rule tweak, as per the reports, has been done to ensure that smaller investors that have relationships with KPC can get involved in the process. KPC, following the lead of its other Gulf counterparts and sovereign investors, is looking to raise funds from infrastructure assets and attract foreign capital, with the goal of diversifying away from oil and funding domestic investment plans.

Among the bidders, Blackstone has emerged as the prominent name. For the first time, the world’s largest alternative asset manager has taken part in a wave of Gulf national oil company infrastructure deals that have also attracted rivals like BlackRock and its Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), as well as KKR and others.

Saudi Aramco, Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC and other regional energy companies have pursued ‌similar ⁠asset strategies in recent years. Aramco has already signed an USD 11 billion lease and leaseback deal for its Jafurah gas processing facilities with a consortium of funds managed by GIP in a deal that got closed in October 2025.

BlackRock’s GIP, Brookfield, EIG Global Energy Partners, KKR and Apollo have also advanced to the ⁠KPC’s next stage of the sales process. KPC launched the transaction in the early stages ⁠of the Iran war, indicating the Gulf nation’s strong intent to press ahead with its fundraising plans despite the geopolitical volatility.

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The US Treasury Department on Monday (June 22) issued a 60-day waiver, known as “General License X”, permitting Iran to produce, sell and transport crude oil, petrochemicals and petroleum products through August 21.

The licence also clears previously sanctioned vessels and entities for transactions and allows payments in US dollars, apart from reopening the door to American imports of Iranian crude, a trade that had largely collapsed since the 1990s.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent framed the waiver as part of efforts to implement the last week’s US-Iran memorandum of understanding (MoU) while broader negotiations continue. The exemption also covers shipping, insurance and vessel registration services tied to the oil trade.

The financial stakes are significant. Around 67 million barrels of Iranian crude currently sit stranded in floating storage in the Gulf. Unlocking that inventory could generate USD 8-9 billion for Tehran, according to Miad Maleki, a former Treasury sanctions official now at the Foundation for Defence of Democracies. He said the combined measures amount to a sustained reopening of Iran’s most important revenue stream.

“Production, sales, dollar payments, petrochemicals and protected shipping — all switched on at once. Together, they amount to a sustained reopening of Iran’s most important revenue stream,” he told the CNBC.

President Donald Trump defended the move, saying any resulting oil profits were intended for Iran to buy American agricultural products, rather than funding its military.

China, which buys roughly 90% of Iran’s oil exports, is expected to be the biggest beneficiary. Maleki said dollar clearing would likely prompt Chinese buyers to accelerate purchases, having previously relied on opaque payment channels to avoid secondary sanctions exposure.

Chinese crude imports from Iran had fallen sharply between February and May of 2026, an unprecedented 4.8 million barrels per day, a steeper drop than the one seen during the COVID pandemic (4 mbd decline), according to JPMorgan. Kpler analyst Muyu Xu said buyers were still reviewing the new rules and that any pickup in purchases would depend on pricing and cargo availability.

“The ‘General License X’ also removes the principal banking friction constraining volume, giving both state refiners and independent refineries, or teapots, access to intermediary banking networks they previously had to circumvent,” Maleki noted. He now expects a rapid storage “top-off cycle” under which Chinese buyers could rush to replenish stockpiles before the exemption expires in August this year.

Iranian exports have already shown signs of recovery, with 6.79 million barrels shipped last week, the highest in two months, according to maritime intelligence firm Windward. Geopolitical Strategy chief strategist Michael Feller said Iran would likely use the 60-day window to repair war-damaged oil facilities and secure longer-term contracts with Chinese buyers, calling it a major boost to both Tehran’s economy and morale.

“Iranian crude, which typically trades at a discount to global benchmarks, could also shift to a premium above Brent given demand pressure, further increasing Tehran’s revenue windfall,” said Brett Erickson, a managing principal at Obsidian Risk Advisors.

Iranian officials have also pointed to other gains from the talks. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Swiss negotiations had produced an agreement to release USD 12 billion in frozen Iranian assets and credited the diplomatic process with reducing violence in Lebanon. He said Iran would keep pushing for Lebanon’s “territorial integrity and national sovereignty” through the talks.

The sanctions relief has drawn criticism from sceptics, who argue Washington is offering major economic concessions before securing firm commitments from Tehran on its nuclear programme or regional conduct. Supporters counter that the measures are designed to build momentum, secure nuclear inspections and lower the risk of renewed conflict in the region.

However, signs of an energy pickup will take time to materialise, said Muyu Xu, a senior oil analyst at Kpler.

“Buyers are scrambling to assess the new authorisation and complete internal compliance reviews — particularly those not previously active in Iranian crude. That said, Chinese buyers’ interest ultimately will rise, though actual procurement will depend on pricing and cargo availability,” Xu told CNBC.

Also Read: US-Iran peace deal: Shipping industry remains cautious on Hormuz front

Also Read: The Hormuz blockade is not just about the oil

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Brent crude futures fell USD 3.65, or 4.2%, to USD 83.68 a barrel, and US West Texas Intermediate was at USD 80.75, down USD 4.13, or 4.9%. Both contracts fell to their lowest levels since March 10 on June 15 after tumbling more than 3% on June 12.

Trump said that while the Strait of Hormuz would be open “toll-free”, a US naval blockade of Iranian ports would also end. Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency, on the other hand, said the draft deal called for reopening the Strait of Hormuz within 30 days under Iranian arrangements.

The global energy market has lost millions of barrels of oil and gas supply since the beginning of the Iran war, which also saw domino effects like attacks on the Middle East’s energy facilities, apart from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic maritime chokepoint through which a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies get transported.

“The geopolitical risk premium that had been built into crude is now being unwound quite aggressively as traders price in the prospect of restored oil flows,” said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade, while interacting with Reuters.

Investors will also be watching cautiously how quickly Middle ‌Eastern producers ⁠can resume oil production and exports following damages from the war and whether more ships will enter the region.

The extreme volatility of global oil prices, resulting from the Iran war, has drained liquidity from the market in 2026 at the fastest pace ‌on record, with investors becoming increasingly cautious about committing cash to an asset that, for a month, became hostage to Trump’s daily social media posts on the “peace deal”. While a deal has been reached after days of flip-flops, the market is still expected to take a “wait-and-watch” approach.

As per the traders, Trump’s pattern of giving threats to Tehran through his Truth Social posts, only to assert later that a peace deal is imminent, as well as the difficulty in tracking real-world oil fundamentals, created a degree of fatigue among investors.

Liquidity, or how well matched the number of buyers is to the number of sellers, is a function of a number of factors, including traded volume and open interest (the number of Brent crude futures contracts that investors own). The latter has fallen by nearly 17% in 2026, the fastest rate ⁠since at least 2009, stated the LSEG data.

“While these uncertainties suggest upside risks to our forecast for Brent oil futures to reach USD 80/bbl by the end of the year, it’s worth noting that oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz just need to reach 60%-70% of pre-war levels to return oil markets to pre-war oversupply expectations,” Vivek Dhar, a commodities strategist ⁠at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said in a note.

As per Gharibabadi, a more expansive agreement would be negotiated during a 60-day ceasefire period.

E4 nations, which include the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy, have already announced their intentions to lift sanctions on Iran in ⁠response to the latter’s steps on its nuclear programme.

“Beyond the immediate price reaction, attention will now shift towards the pace of actual supply normalisation and compliance with the agreement. While the conflict may have come to an ⁠end and oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz may gradually return to normal, the damage already done cannot be reversed overnight. This includes not only any physical damage to oil infrastructure but also the economic strain endured by oil-importing economies that have faced elevated energy costs for months,” said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at Phillip Nova, while interacting with Reuters.

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The refinery, owned by Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote, began fuel production in the facility in 2024. Since then, it has scaled up output of petrol, diesel, and jet fuel.

Apart from supplying energy products in the domestic market, Dangote Petroleum Refinery also exports to other African countries, along with Europe, the United States, and Saudi Arabia.

“The refinery ⁠has built up a large surplus of jet fuel and can supply global markets as rising output attracts growing interest from international crude suppliers and commodity trading firms,” Dangote Petroleum’s CEO David Bird said on June 2.

Amid the ongoing energy supply disruptions due to the Iran war and the Strait of Hormuz blockade, Dangote Refinery has emerged as a major supplier in Africa, with the continent’s buyers seeking more reliable sources.

Exports climbed to 353,000 barrels per day in April from 168,000 bpd in February, according to data from analytics firm Kpler, with about half of that volume flowing to other African countries.

Devakumar Edwin, vice president for oil and gas at Dangote Industries, said the ⁠ramp-up forms part of a wider plan to expand capacity to 1.4 million bpd within 30 months, a level that could make the facility one of the largest globally.

Despite the 700,000-bpd surge marking a significant expansion for Africa’s largest refinery ⁠and demonstrating its emergence as a regional supplier, analysts caution it is too early to assess whether the trend represents a lasting shift in trade patterns, particularly after exports pulled back to 285,000 ⁠bpd in May.

“We’re seeing a clear shift toward regional barrels, with Dangote steadily increasing its share of Africa’s seaborne fuel imports,” said Mick Strautmann, market analyst at Vortexa, while interacting with Reuters.

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The world’s fifth-largest ‌oil importer, which imports roughly USD 70 billion to USD 90 billion worth of crude oil annually, sourcing over 90% of its supplies from the Middle East, got just 850,000 barrels per day (4.07 million kilolitres) of crude in April, METI data showed, against the established capacity of over 2.3 million barrels per day.

While imports from the Middle East fell 68%, shipments from Japan’s two largest suppliers – Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – dropped 60% or more, as the Hormuz stalemate has disrupted the supplies of roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and LNG that happen through the strategically crucial transit route. Despite several crude oil tankers leaving the Gulf region in May, energy flows via the key waterway have remained far lower than pre-war levels.

These have resulted in refiners in Japan and Asia deepening production run cuts since April due to the oil supply shortage.

Japan’s domestic oil product sales, in April, ⁠fell 11.3% from a year earlier to 2.04 million bpd, the METI data showed. Gasoline sales too went downhill, dropping 2.6% to 693,875 bpd. Kerosene sales were down 13.3% to 120,524 bpd. Sales of petrochemical feedstock naphtha reduced 35.6% to 406,231 bpd. Crude oil imports from the United States, however, rose by 38.8%.

Apart from the fall in the oil supply, a weak yen has also resulted in the import price hitting a record high. As per the METI estimates, the customs-cleared import price for crude oil stood at JPY101,389 (USD 637.8) per kilolitre in April, the highest since comparable records began in 1979. The previous record was JPY99,600 in July 2022, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“In dollar terms, the customs-cleared import price was USD 101.2 per barrel, the 57th highest on record,” the data said further.

Japan’s crude import price, also known as the Japan Crude Cocktail (JCC), is based on customs-cleared CIF (cost, insurance and freight) prices and is sensitive to global crude price movements, with a lag of about one month due to shipping times.

Higher JCC prices often raise the crude oil (along with LNG) import cost, which in turn makes thermal power generation an expensive affair, leading directly to soaring electricity bills.

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