Bloomberg: “Another tanker appears to have been struck in the Gulf of Oman, following attacks by the US on two other vessels in the area earlier this week.”

Washington Post: “Oil and gas executives have warned the White House that gasoline prices could surge in coming months as fuel inventories fall to critical lows, complicating the Trump administration’s efforts to contain inflation that has already rattled American consumers.”

“Industry officials say they are doing everything they can to sound an alarm that prices are about to soar as the commercial and government inventories that have mitigated price rises so far are rapidly depleting… Some inventories could be wiped out within weeks.”

New York Times: “The monthslong closure of the Strait of Hormuz is reinforcing an expensive geopolitical lesson about how risky it can be to rely on imported energy.”

“From South America to Southeast Asia, governments and private companies are being forced to look inward and take steps to harness what they can domestically, even when doing so raises upfront costs. Call it the era of me-first energy.”

Wall Street Journal: “For decades, the Persian Gulf’s energy map converged on a single chokepoint: the Strait of Hormuz. Now, spurred by the Iran war, the region’s petrostates are rushing to draw new lines to circumvent it.”

“Across the Gulf, governments are pouring billions into new oil pipelines, rail corridors and energy storage hubs to bypass the waterway in what is set to become one of the most durable outcomes of the conflict. The new energy links are part of a broader redrawing of the region’s logistics map, shifting trade toward trucking, rail and new ports.”

Bloomberg: “President Donald Trump is preparing to use Cold War-era authorities to dole hundreds of millions of federal dollars to support coal-fired electricity as well as US exports of the fossil fuel.”

“Trump is expected to announce he’s delivering the funding for US coal plants and an American export terminal under the 1950 Defense Production Act during an Oval Office event Thursday.”

“Oil prices jumped Thursday on a report that Iran’s supreme leader will not allow the country’s enriched uranium to be shipped abroad, a position that will likely complicate peace talks with the U.S.,” CNBC reports.

GasBuddy predicts another big spike in gas prices next week — up from $4.56 a gallon — if President Trump doesn’t figure out a way to open the Strait of Hormuz.

“All 50 states have average gas prices above $4 a gallon, AAA said Wednesday, with seven now topping $5 a gallon,” Axios reports.

Wall Street Journal: “For now, the U.S. has been able to meet needs at home and replace some of the missing Gulf barrels. No nation in the world’s history has ever exported as much energy: It shipped 14.2 million barrels of crude and products a day late last month—the rough equivalent of one out of seven barrels consumed globally in ordinary times.”

“But trouble is brewing. U.S. oil producers are barely stepping up their output, refineries are running at full-throttle, and domestic stocks are getting depleted fast. The upshot: American consumers are set to keep paying more for fuel to stay inside the U.S.’s borders.”

The Economist: “The largest supply shock in petroleum history is getting larger fast. Some 2 billion barrels, or 5% of the world’s yearly oil supply, have already been lost because the Strait of Hormuz is shut. Every day it remains closed the deficit grows by 14 million barrels. Since peace talks between America and Iran have stalled, a reopening still seems many days away.”

“Yet oil markets look strangely calm. Brent crude futures, at $105 a barrel, have fallen from April highs of nearly $120. They remain below the peak of $129 in 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine. Spot prices have slid even more, implying that crude oil is more plentiful than it was earlier in the war. The surprising mini-glut is real—but do not take too much comfort from it. A full-blown energy disaster may be weeks away.”

Bloomberg: “Cuba said the country has completely run out of the diesel and fuel oil it needs to keep its power plants running, with civil unrest starting to break out amid a de facto US energy blockade of the communist-run nation.”

Interior Secretary Doug Bergum was questioned at a House hearing by Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA):

BURGUM: When the sun goes down, solar produces zero electricity.

HUFFMAN: I want to enter into the record this amazing new technology that apparently the secretary is unaware of — it’s a battery.