Oil prices continue to fluctuate over crisis in Iran
** The price of oil has been driven higher by the latest round of escalations in the Middle East, renewing fears of a drastic global energy shock.
IEA calls it the ‘worst energy crisis ever’
** The conflict between Iran and the United States and Israel is creating the worst energy crisis ever faced by the world, the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday. “This is indeed the biggest crisis in history,” Birol told France Inter radio in an interview broadcast on Tuesday.
Seized Iranian cargo shop came from China
** The Iranian-flagged cargo ship recently seized by U.S. forces had recently traveled through Chinese ports, spotlighting a supply route now under scrutiny as officials probe suspected dual-use cargo aboard the vessel. The vessel, Touska, remains in U.S. custody as American forces continue inspecting what maritime security sources told Reuters is likely “dual-use” cargo — materials that can serve both civilian and military purposes — following a voyage from Asia.
War causes increased European airline flights
** – Disruption to global oil supplies from the Iran war has added more than $100 to the price of long-haul flights from Europe, a cost likely to trigger higher ticket prices, campaign group Transport & Environment (T&E) said.
Ukraine complains of sanctions on Russia
** Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has criticized an easing of sanctions on Russian energy, writing on X that “every dollar paid for Russian oil is money for the war.” His statement on April 19 comes after the United States prolonged its Russian oil waiver earlier in the week with figures showing that Moscow nearly doubled its oil revenue in March amid soaring energy prices as Iran continues to disrupt shipping on the crucial Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. Energy
** The NAACP files a lawsuit accusing Elon Musk’s data center firm xAI of illegally operating 27 natural gas turbines without an air quality permit at its Southaven, Mississippi, power plant, saying the generators are a major source of nitrogen oxides.
** Kentucky legislation aimed at ensuring data center-related infrastructure and service costs are borne by developers, not other ratepayers, stalls in the state Senate.
** Texas grid operator ERCOT says its peak demand could quadruple by 2032 due to increasing loads from data centers, industry, and oil and gas facilities.
** South Florida transit officials say $96 million worth of electric buses were pulled out of service due to mechanical problems and the manufacturer’s bankruptcy.
** North Dakota regulators give preliminary approval to start work on $110 million in power grid projects to support a new data center near Fargo. (North Dakota Monitor)
** Another Wisconsin data center project advances and state regulators consider new utility rate proposals for users as public polling shows declining public support for data centers in the state.