Tag - oil

 
Menu
Search
 
July 04, 2026
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

OIL

Air travel keeps deteriorating — especially in the U.S., with longer lines, higher costs, and fewer amenities — leaving millions of travelers increasingly frustrated and feeling economically squeezed.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 18, 2026
Flying is abysmal and It’s only getting worse
Regardless of airline: Seats get smaller, lines get longer, amenities become rarer and more expensive, customer service gets worse and more flights are delayed and canceled.
A man walks down a street in the rain as Cuba reconnected its electrical grid across much of the island, according to the Energy and Mines Ministry, following a nationwide blackout that left about 10 million people without electricity, in Havana on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 18, 2026
Cuba’s worst fuel crisis in decades may get relief from Russia
A tanker carrying Russian crude appears headed to Cuba as the fuel-starved island seeks a reprieve three months after the U.S. effectively shut off the flow of oil to the country.
India’s reliance on imported gas has created a crisis where LPG cylinders meant for households are scarce for restaurants and small industries, exposing vulnerabilities in the nation’s energy transition.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 18, 2026
The war in Iran hits Indian curries — and crematoriums
Commercial kitchens are starting to crater under a severe shortage of liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG.
An attendant holds a petrol nozzle after refueling a car at a PetroChina gas station in Beijing on March 10.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 18, 2026
China’s fuel export ban to further tighten Asia supply
Australia, Bangladesh and the Philippines are ​especially reliant on Chinese fuel supply and will have to cover their needs elsewhere.
The liquefied natural gas tanker Sohshu Maru approaches a thermal power station in Futtsu, Chiba Prefecture, in December 2021.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 18, 2026
Japan’s energy dilemma in an era of volatility
Between 30% to 40% of Japan’s power generation relies on LNG, yet the country maintains only two to three weeks of LNG feedstock for electricity generation.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks during a news conference at the central bank's headquarters in Tokyo in January.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 17, 2026
BOJ likely to sit tight as Middle East conflict clouds economic outlook
Though a rate hike is unlikely this month, if the yen’s depreciation continues, pressure on the bank to act will likely grow at the next meeting in April.
Tankers sail in the Gulf near the Strait of Hormuz in United Arab Emirates on March 11. Discussions in Tokyo about escorting Japanese vessels have centered on whether this would require parliamentary or Cabinet approval.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 17, 2026
How Tokyo politicians view the Iran war
While government officials deny the possibility of an immediate Self-Defense Forces deployment, U.S. calls for support mean discussions are sure to intensify.
A gasoline tanker truck at an Idemitsu Kosan gas station in Tokyo on Monday. Curbs on production of petrochemical products by multiple Japanese firms point to a brewing crisis that could stunt pressure sectors from food to technology.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 17, 2026
Limited supplies of naphtha an underrecognized supply chain risk in Japan
Curbs on production by multiple Japanese petrochemical firms point to a brewing crisis that could stunt pressure sectors from food to technology.
Traffic lights along the coastline of Havana during a blackout on Monday
WORLD
Mar 17, 2026
Trump vows to ‘take’ Cuba as island reels from oil embargo
The Caribbean island of 9.6 million people is grappling with yet another major power cut.
A vessel sits at anchor at Sultan Qaboos Port in Muscat, Oman, on Monday.
BUSINESS
Mar 17, 2026
Gulf importers race to reroute as Hormuz closure jolts supply chains
The closure has logistics companies racing to overcome the headaches of changing vessel destinations and keeping perishable items from spoiling.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during an Upper House Budget Committee meeting on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 16, 2026
Takaichi says no current plan to deploy SDF for Hormuz escort mission
The prime minister said such an operation would be legally “very difficult,” adding that Japan had not been asked to join a coalition to help secure vessels in the waterway.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping talk as they leave after a bilateral meeting at Gimhae International Airport, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, in Busan, South Korea, on Oct. 30.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 16, 2026
Trump threatens Xi summit delay if China doesn’t help in Hormuz
Trump stressed China’s dependence on oil from the Middle East in an interview with The Financial Times, as he reiterated a demand for Beijing to help unblock the key waterway.
Tanks at an oil refinery in Yokohama in February. Japan said Monday it began to release strategic oil reserves.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 16, 2026
Japan begins its largest-ever oil release from strategic reserves
Crude oil prices have soared as the Strait of Hormuz, through which most Japan-bound oil passes, remains effectively closed.
U.S. President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn of the White House after arriving on Marine One in Washington on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 16, 2026
Trump says he’s asked seven countries to join coalition to police Strait of Hormuz
The U.S. president insisted that nations relying heavily on oil from the Gulf have a responsibility to protect the strait.
A drilling platform near Stord, western Norway, in 2017. Already Europe's largest supplier of natural gas since Ukraine began, Norway hopes to use the war in the Middle East to get EU blessing to drill in the Arctic.
BUSINESS
Mar 15, 2026
Middle East turmoil revives Norway push for Arctic drilling
Norway — which is not an EU member but is closely aligned on many issues — has often extolled the virtues of stable energy supplies from a peaceful, democratic country.
A tanker sits anchored in Port Sultan Qaboos in Muscat, Oman, on March 12.
BUSINESS
Mar 15, 2026
Lured by profits, some shipowners brave mines and missiles to sneak oil past Iran
Tactics deployed by shipowners so far include switching off AIS ship-tracking transponders in the hope that vessels become less visible to Iran’s military, and traveling at night.
Italian Energy Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin
WORLD / Politics
Mar 15, 2026
Italy explores nuclear return after 40 years as energy costs hit
A pivot to nuclear is central to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s plan to thwart Italy’s rising energy prices, which are among the highest in Europe.
Industry minister Ryosei Akazawa addressed an Indo-Pacific Energy Security Ministerial and Business Forum on Saturday, calling on regional leaders to diversify their energy supply.
BUSINESS
Mar 15, 2026
Akazawa implores Asian partners to diversify energy suppliers
The industry minister said that the region depends on imports for more than 80% of its energy compounding the damage caused by the conflict between U.S.-Israeli forces and Iran.
Smoke rises from the direction of an energy installation in the Gulf emirate of Fujairah on Saturday.
ENVIRONMENT
Mar 15, 2026
Toxic pollution from Iran war will spread and last for decades
Missiles and bombs contain heavy metals and other toxic pollutants, which are released into the air, soil and water lingering often for decades and posing health risks.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during the National Defense Academy's graduation ceremony in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 15, 2026
Trump’s call for Japan to send warships to Strait of Hormuz heaps pressure on Takaichi
The U.S. president’s push for a “team effort” to reopen key waterway comes less than a week before Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is due in Washington for a summit with Trump.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
Japan triples departure tax in push to combat overtourism
Tourists in Yanaka Ginza, Tokyo, on Wednesday. Japan tripled its International Tourist Tax (departure tax) to ¥3,000 from ¥1,000 on Wednesday for all travelers leaving Japan, regardless of nationality.
Japanese-language education is at a turning point
The country is gradually transforming Japanese-language education from a volunteer-driven system into a professional, government-supported network to better serve its growing foreign population. 
Japan’s princesses face life-altering legal revisions
Princess Aiko, the daughter of Emperor Naruhito, said in a 2022 news conference upon coming of age that she hopes to “spend a long time together” with her parents.
Japan plans to sharply raise fees for residence permits from October
Foreign tourists walk on the path leading to the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in May.
Iran war exposed, but hasn’t changed, Japan’s reliance on imported oil
Wind turbines generate energy from strong easterly winds on the Shonai Plain in Yamagata Prefecture. Despite the oil crisis caused by conflict near the Strait of Hormuz, and concerns instability in the region could continue to impact supply and the price of imports, the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi does not seem to be drawing on the war as a pretext to hasten progress toward Japan's renewable goals.
Six of the best: rikishi of note in each sumo division
Kazuma (right) faces off against future <i>yokozuna</i> Onosato during the All Japan Amateur Sumo Championships at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in December 2020.
Some startups see opportunity in an aging Japan
Yasmin Baba, CTO of Amilis, wins the Grand Prize at the Pitch2Tokyo Grand Final on Feb. 19.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Digital marketer Netyear zeros in on generative AI
Digital marketer Netyear zeros in on generative AI

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER