31 Mar As Reported Energy Price, news and commentary 31/03/26: OPEC $117.12/bbl
(Oilandgaspress) President Donald Trump has made increased fossil fuel production a central focus of his second term. He wants to open new areas of the Gulf off the Florida coast to drilling, and has proposed sweeping rollbacks of environmental regulations disliked by industry. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth notified Burgum on March 13 that an Endangered Species Act exemption for oil and gas drilling in the Gulf was “necessary for reasons of national security,” according to a court filing from the administration.
Government officials have not disclosed the rationale for the request, which came amid global oil shocks and soaring energy prices brought on by the Iran war. Experts say the administration must specify the military need that would endanger a species to make a case for the national security exemption. Related News
| Oil and Gas Blends | Units | Oil Price | Change |
| Crude Oil (WTI) Oilprice | USD/bbl | $101.80 | Down |
| Crude Oil (Brent) | USD/bbl | $112.15 | Down |
| Bonny Light 30/03/26 CBN | USD/bbl | $130.69 | — |
| Dubai | USD/bbl | $128.51 | Up |
| Natural Gas | USD/MMBtu | $2.82 | Down |
| Murban | USD/bbl | $120.90 | Up |
| OPEC basket 30/03/26 OPEC | USD/bbl | $117.12 | Down |
| At press time March 31, 2026 |
bp has announced plans to relocate its operations from its long-standing Sunbury-on-Thames campus to a new, consolidated headquarters in central London. The move is expected to take place between late 2027 and early 2028.
The energy supermajor has agreed a 192,000 sq ft lease at the Timber Square office scheme at Bankside with developers Landsec.
The decision forms part of bp’s broader strategy to bring key business, technology, and leadership teams into a single, modern workspace designed to enhance collaboration, efficiency, and innovation. The new headquarters will be located in Southwark, positioning the company closer to partners, stakeholders, and global transport links.. Related News
BW Energy has signed a sale and leaseback agreement with Minsheng Financial Leasing Co., Ltd. (“MSFL”) for the Jasmine Alpha jack up drilling rig. BW Energy will receive an USD 80 million cash consideration, strengthening financial flexibility while maintaining continued access to the unit.
Under the agreement, BW Energy has entered into a 12 month lease of the rig, with an option to extend for a further 12 months. The Company expects to recognise an equity gain above the carrying value of the rig, reflecting the value increase since the acquisition of the rig at a favourable price during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. The agreement builds on BW Energy’s established partnership with MSFL, including the ongoing financing of the Maromba B wellhead platform. The terms of the new arrangement align with the Company’s existing infrastructure financing strategy.. Related News
First Phosphate Corp. announced the completion of its infill drill program launched on October 21, 2025 at its Bégin-Lamarche property in Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean, Quebec. The drilling campaign has confirmed extensive, continuous mineralization across the existing horizon of the initial resource estimate. The drill program has also discovered two new phosphate intersects located in the Northern Zone and in the Southern Zone on the eastern side of the existing mineralized zone. An additional 10,000 meters of targeted drilling was added to the initial drill program of 30,000 meters to solidify an understanding of these new intersects as well as to test additional mineralization located at depth in various areas across the Northern and Southern Zones. The Company is currently processing the full set of drill results from its original and expanded drill campaign which totalled about 40,000 m with the goal of upgrading the geological model for the Bégin-Lamarche property in the coming weeks. First Phosphate recently secured a C$16.7 million non-repayable contribution from the Government of Canada, reinforcing its role in building a domestic critical minerals ecosystem. The funding supports feasibility work and engineering st udies as the company moves toward a final investment decision. Related News
Britain faces one of the biggest blows from the Middle Eastern energy crisis, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned. The IMF warned that the UK economy was “especially exposed” to higher oil and gas prices, and compared the impact to a “large sudden tax on income” for a family. Related News
The US has allowed a Russian oil tanker into Cuba despite an existing fuel blockade, President Donald Trump confirmed. “If a country wants to send some oil into Cuba right now, I have no problem, whether it’s Russia … and if other countries want to do it,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he returned to Washington from a weekend at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida, the Washington Post reported.. Related News
Tropical Cyclone Narelle last week disrupted operations at a total of three LNG facilities in Australia, including Chevron’s Gorgon and Wheatstone, worsening an increasingly severe global LNG supply crunch. Gorgon only had to suspend operations at one of its three liquefaction trains. Related News
The national average price for gasoline in the United States has risen 2.4 cents over the last week and stands at $3.95 per gallon, according to GasBuddy® data compiled from more than 12 million individual price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country. The national average is up 97.9 cents from a month ago and is 83.8 cents per gallon higher than a year ago. The national average price of diesel rose 14.3 cents in the last week and stands at $5.369 per gallon, the highest level since July 27, 2022.
“Gasoline and diesel prices continue to climb to multi-year highs as the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz curtails the flow of millions of barrels of crude oil each day,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “The situation remains highly volatile and unpredictable, but upward pressure on fuel prices is likely to persist as long as global oil supplies are constrained by the continued disruption in the Strait. We’re likely to see the national average for gasoline push beyond the $4-per-gallon mark, while diesel could approach $6 per gallon and potentially set new records if conditions fail to improve. Americans have already spent nearly $8 billion more on gasoline over the past month, a trend that poses growing risks to the broader economy, while surging diesel prices may begin to reaccelerate inflation.” The most common U.S. gas price encountered by motorists stood at $3.99 per gallon, up 30 cents from a week ago, followed by $3.89, $3.79, $3.69, and $3.59, rounding out the top five most common prices. The most common U.S. diesel price stood at $4.99 per gallon, unchanged from last week, followed by $4.79, $4.89, $4.69, and $4.59, rounding out the top five most common prices.Related News
US President Donald Trump said he wants to “take the oil in Iran” and perhaps seize Kharg Island, while at the same time insisting that Washington is doing “extremely well” in negotiations with Iran and that he is “pretty sure” a peace deal will be reached “soon.” The mixing of threats and the possibility of a peace deal with Tehran came in an interview published late on March 29 in the Financial Times and in remarks an hour later to reporters aboard Air Force One.. Related News
The UK is heavily reliant on oil and gas imports, with the lion’s share of those imports coming from the US and Norway. The price of oil on the global market determines how much the UK pays for it.The most recent data from motoring organisation the RAC shows that since the war began, average petrol prices have risen by 19p to 152p a litre. Diesel has increased by 40p to 181p a litre, and these prices are likely to go higher. There is normally a time lag, with movements in oil markets taking about a fortnight to impact fuel prices.
Some fuel retailers have been accused of price gouging, but they have denied this. The official markets regulator is investigating the issue. Related News
The UK government and Ofgem are proposing introducing baseline cyber requirements for all Ofgem licensees to ensure cyber is on everyone’s agenda and introduce a consistent cyber starting point for the energy system. They believe it is time for the UK to reconsider its approach to cyber resilience as the composition of the system is now changing and a broader range of organisations play an increasingly important role in delivering energy services and system balancing. Related News
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