Oil markets volatile as Middle East conflict rages

By rahmat hidayat

Tuesday, June 24, 2025

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Hello Power Up readers! Oil markets are having a volatile day, dropping by nearly 5% so far on Monday after a report that Iran launched six missiles toward U.S. bases in Qatar. They had kicked off the week by soaring nearly 6% to a 5-month high after the U.S. targeted Iran's nuclear sites on Saturday.

Top energy headlines

Oil prices plunge after Iran retaliates

A general view of Abadan oil refinery in southwest Iran, is pictured from Iraqi side of Shatt al-Arab in Al-Faw south of Basra, Iraq September 21, 2019. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani/File Photo

The news out of the Middle East is fluid, and markets are volatile. By the time this newsletter lands in your mailbox, things may have changed.

As of now, oil markets are selling off following a report that Iran has launched missiles at U.S. military bases in Qatar. Earlier in the day, Qatar had shut its airspace.

Telegraphed attacks on well-defended U.S. bases would follow a similar pattern, and provided there are no U.S. casualties, could be a first step in reducing tensions, Energy Aspects mentioned in one of their recent Live posts.

BP and TotalEnergies are evacuating foreign personnel from Iraqi oilfields, state-run Basra Oil Company said on Monday. Output remains unchanged, with exports averaging 3.32 million barrels per day.

All eyes are on whether there will be an impact to transit through the Strait of Hormuz, which is responsible for about a fifth of the world's oil consumption. At least two supertankers made U-turns near the strait following U.S. military strikes on Iran over the weekend.

In another corner of the energy world, U.S. power prices are soaring to their highest level since the winter as a brutal heat wave blankets the eastern half of the country. Next-day power prices at the PJM West hub in Pennsylvania soared by over 430% to roughly $211 per megawatt hour, while in New England prices rose by 180% to over $161 per MWh.

Also, New York state plans to build an advanced nuclear plant that will have capacity to produce 1 gigawatt of power, Governor Kathy Hochul said on Monday. The plant would be one of the first new U.S. reactors in a generation.

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Venezuela's second-largest oil refinery has halted operations due to a power blackout. The 310,000 barrel-per-day Cardon plant is run by state oil company PDVSA. The country's refining network has faced frequent outages after years of under-investment.

Russia has signed an investment agreement with Myanmar that would create new opportunities for Russian energy companies there. The deal comes as Russia is building closer ties with Myanmar's military junta and will accelerate projects including Myanmar's Dawei special economic zone.

Italian energy company Eni will set up a new company focused on different assets, including oil refineries and fuel storage facilities. The new unit will likely be named Eni Industrial Evolution and could onboard up to 2,000 employees.

Britain has issued tougher environmental rules for fossil fuel projects in the North Sea, which will have implications for at least two projects underway by Shell and Equinor. Approval for the projects must now take into account the environmental impact of emissions from using or burning the fossil fuels extracted.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday sided with fuel producers that had opposed California's standards for vehicle emissions and electric cars under a federal air pollution law. The 7-2 ruling overturned a lower court's decision to dismiss a lawsuit by a Valero Energy Subsidiary and fuel industry groups.

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