The U.S. and Iran are moving closer to a potential agreement that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz, though negotiators remain divided on key provisions tied to sanctions relief, uranium enrichment and enforcement measures.
The U.S. and China called for the Strait of Hormuz to reopen following talks between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, though negotiations over the Iran conflict remain deadlocked as global oil prices continue climbing.
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators has introduced legislation aimed at preventing future presidential administrations from pausing or delaying liquefied natural gas (LNG) export approvals, drawing support from oil and gas industry organizations and energy workforce groups.
Enverus, a firm that provides analytics, reported on Wednesday that the amount of deals in the U.S. oil and gas sector upstream jumped to $38 billion during the first quarter this year. This was the highest quarterly figure in two years. Last week, Devon Shale Producers and Coterra, a smaller competitor to Devon, closed their merger after first announcing the plans in February. This deal, valued at $25 billion, took up the majority of Q1’s dealmaking.
The Trump administration announced Monday it would loan out 53.3 million barrels of oil from the country’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve to energy companies – an attempt to bring down skyrocketing oil prices as a result of the U.S. war with Iran.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration will begin publishing new quarterly energy security datasets on May 13 covering global strategic petroleum reserves and shipping flows through key oil and LNG chokepoints, as ongoing disruption in the Strait of Hormuz continues to reshape global energy markets.
Commercial shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained severely restricted Tuesday as an Iraqi crude supertanker reversed course near the U.S. naval blockade line, underscoring mounting risks for oil and LNG flows through one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints.
Seadrill added more than $860 million to its offshore drilling contract backlog during first-quarter 2026, supported by new deepwater rig awards and extensions across Brazil, the U.S. Gulf and Angola as the company pointed to strengthening demand for offshore drilling services.
Brent crude oil fell 4.3% to $96.96 per barrel on May 7, 2026, during volatile trading, as renewed hopes of a U.S.-Iran peace deal emerged, according to market analysts. The benchmark slipped $4.31 from its May 6 close, with intraday fluctuations of up to 4.6%, exchange data showed. Shipping giant Maersk warned that even if a peace agreement were reached soon, high energy costs would persist due to structural supply constraints.
The United States Department of Defense said its ceasefire with Iran remains in place despite renewed clashes in and around the Strait of Hormuz, where vessel attacks and missile strikes have heightened risks to global oil shipping.