21 May As Reported Energy Price, news updates and expert commentary 21/04/26
(Oilandgaspress) If fuel prices were to remain at current levels for the rest of the year, annual fuel expenses would rise by roughly €70 in Italy and up to €280 for petrol in the Netherlands compared to last year. For diesel, the additional burden would range from €190 to €430. And for those still remembering the 2022 energy price shock: annual fuel expenses (in nominal terms) in the eurozone would be between 2% (Austria) and 15% (the Netherlands) higher than in 2022.
While this increase in fuel prices alone could undermine private consumption, it will do so more unevenly than many might think.
Across the eurozone, the share of disposable income spent on fuel differs markedly. Last year, households in Italy spent around 4.0% of their disposable income on fuel, compared with 6.2% in Portugal. Interestingly, this gap does not reflect cheaper fuel in Italy.
On the contrary, with higher taxes, fuel prices there are at the higher end of the scale in the eurozone. The gap instead points to differences in driving habits, with Italians driving relatively few kilometres per year, and lower income levels in Portugal limiting the ability to absorb higher costs.
The increase in fuel prices so far, excluding any additional fiscal measures, is likely to widen the difference between eurozone countries in the share of disposable income spent on fuel. In the Netherlands, the sharpest absolute rise in fuel costs is pushing households to spend a much larger share of their disposable income on fuel than a year ago. Germany, France, and Austria, where people tend to drive more, are likely to face greater additional financial burdens as well, while Italy and Spain should see a more moderate increase.
In Spain, the temporary reduction in the VAT rate on fuel from 21% to 10% dampens the price effect. In Italy, the below-average mileage is providing some relief. Related News
| Oil and Gas Blends | Units | Oil Price | Notes |
| Crude Oil (WTI) Oilprice | US$/bbl | $100.60 | |
| Crude Oil (Brent) | US$/bbl | $107.00 | |
| Bonny Light 20/05/26 CBN | US$/bbl | $116.92 | |
| Dubai | US$/bbl | $103.31 | |
| Natural Gas | US$/MMBtu | $3.02 | |
| Murban | US$/bbl | $105.90 | |
| OPEC basket 20/05/26 OPEC | US$/bbl | $115.42 | |
| At press time May 21, 2026 |
His Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, ADNOC Managing Director and Group CEO, Chairman of Masdar and Executive Chairman of XRG, said that renewed infrastructure investment and an absolute commitment to freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz are needed to enhance global energy resilience.
Speaking with the Atlantic Council, Dr. Al Jaber called for investment across the value chain to strengthen the global energy economy. As part of this plan, the company is moving forward with a new phase of world-scale project execution, including accelerating construction of a second pipeline to double export capacity through Fujairah Port, which bypasses the Strait of Hormuz.
“Right now, too much of the world’s energy still moves through too few chokepoints. That is exactly why the UAE made the decision more than a decade ago to invest in infrastructure that bypasses the Strait. And it is why we moved ahead with our second pipeline in 2025. Today it is already 50 percent complete, and we are accelerating delivery toward 2027.”
Dr. Al Jaber said ADNOC remained committed to its $150 billion (AED551 billion) five-year capital expenditure (CAPEX) program to enhance its operations, drive growth and meet global energy demand. “As a sector, we are dangerously underinvested. Upstream investment is sitting at around $400 billion a year, which barely offsets natural decline rates. Global spare capacity is around 3 million barrels a day. It should be closer to 5. And in just two months, the world drew-down around 250 million barrels from storage. We have 30 to 35 days of effective cover. We need to at least double that.”
Dr. Al Jaber explained how the current conflict had highlighted supply chain fragility for not only oil and gas, but also critical chemicals, minerals and fertilizers driving the world economy. “Hormuz is not just an oil story. It is an everything story. Think about it: we are talking LNG, jet fuel, fertilizer, aluminum, helium, critical minerals, plastics, consumer goods and general cargo. In other words, the entire supply chain of the modern global economy, from the food on your table, to the planes in the sky, to the chips in your phone. Fuel prices are up 30 percent, fertilizer is up 50 percent, airfares are up 25 percent. Every farm, factory and family is paying the price. And the ones who are most vulnerable end up carrying the heaviest load.
“One stat that really stands out: Just over 80 days into this conflict and almost 80 countries have now taken emergency measures to support their economies.” Related News
Chinese solar cells and panels continued to surge in April as demand for solar installations in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Europe soars amid the oil and gas crisis. The value of the solar PV technology exports soared to $4.8 billion in March, more than doubled compared to $2.2 billion in solar export value in February.
Exports to Southeast Asia and Africa eased off the records in March, which benefited from the export refund policy. But they were up by 75-85% compared to April 2025, according to official Chinese customs data carried by Reuters.
Despite the expectations of higher prices of the products without the tax refund, overseas shipments continued their strong momentum in April.
China’s exports of solar cells and panels to Africa surged by 83% in April from a year earlier, with South African purchases up by over 81%, and the Democratic Republic of Congo also emerging as a key buyer, according to the customs data.
Exports to Southeast Asia jumped by 75% year over year in April, with the Philippines more than doubling the volume of its solar equipment imports from China.
China’s solar exports hit a record-high of 68 gigawatts (GW) in March, double the February export volumes, due to the spike in energy prices and an additional boost from changes to Chinese tax rebates, data analyzed by Ember showed last month. Related News
Capricorn announces that at the Annual General Meeting held earlier today, all resolutions set out in the Notice of Annual General Meeting put to the Annual General Meeting were passed by the requisite majority. Each of the resolutions put to the Annual General Meeting was voted on by way of a poll and the results are set out in the table below. Each shareholder, present in person or by proxy, was entitled to one vote per share held. Related News
Randy Neely, Chief Executive of Capricorn Energy PLC, will make the following statement at the Company’s Annual General Meeting for shareholders at 10am on 21 May 2026. The Company will announce its half year results on 24 September 2026.
Over the past year, Capricorn has maintained focus on cash flow and strengthening our business in Egypt. A key achievement for the Company has been the consolidation of eight Egyptian concession agreements into a single merged Western Desert production sharing contract, which was formally ratified by the Egyptian House of Representatives at the end of Q1 2026 and came into effect following signing on 19 May 2026. This is a significant milestone for Capricorn, unlocking additional reserves and enhanced fiscal terms that should drive increased investment and cash flow, increasing our netback by around $5 at $80/bbl, positioning the Company for improved free cash flow.
Year-to-date, production is tracking within our 2026 guidance range of 18,000 – 22,000 boepd and in February a planned operational shutdown at the Badr El Din (BED) facility was conducted on time and safely. With ratification of the merged concession agreement, drilling is planned on the new acreage secured. In Q3 2026 we will drill two wells in this area, to test whether the producing trends of the Abu Rouash Gharadig (ARG) reservoir extends, which could unlock additional development locations. The operational start date of 1 July 2025 allowed the Company to focus development activity in BED. In 2026 this has continued with development drilling of oil producers and water injectors in the ARG reservoir.
We are targeting 2026 capital expenditure of $85–95m and operating costs of $5–7/boe, maintaining a disciplined approach that balances investment against collections. In addition to development activity, we continue to progress near field exploitation opportunities that are complementary to the producing asset base.
Financial discipline remains central to our cash flow-focused strategy. This discipline supports ongoing investment and positions the business to capitalise on the opportunities created by the merged concession. We are now debt free, having repaid our remaining debt in April, and as of 30 April 2026, our Group cash balance was $132m.
We continue to evaluate value-accretive opportunities, primarily focused on building out our business in Egypt and capitalising on our capabilities in the UK North Sea, that align with our strategy and commitment to shareholder value. Related News
Equinor announce the NOK cash dividend per share is based on average USDNOK fixing rate from Norges Bank in the period plus/minus three business days from record date 15 May 2026, in total seven business days.
Average Norges Bank fixing rate for this period was 9.2414. Total cash dividend for fourth quarter 2025 is consequently NOK 3.6041 per share. On 27 May 2026, the cash dividend will be paid to relevant shareholders on Oslo Børs (Oslo Stock Exchange) and to holders of American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) on New York Stock Exchange . Related News
Equinor has signed a 5-year agreement with Eneco for supplies of natural gas from the Norwegian continental shelf. The gas volumes will be delivered to Eneco’s wholly owned German subsidiary LichtBlick.
The agreement runs until the end of 2030 and covers annual volumes of around 2.2 terawatt‑hours (around 0.2 bcm/year), and deliveries to Germany started in April 2026. The gas supplied under the agreement has a greenhouse gas intensity lower than alternative supply into the German grid.
Eneco will purchase from Equinor guarantees of origin, named ‘sustainability qualities’, via the Attributes SAS platform. According to LichtBlick, gas under this contract has around 9% lower greenhouse gas intensity than their alternative sources. Related News
Quoreka, a global provider of energy and commodity trading and risk management solutions, has appointed Brian Quinn as Chief Product Officer and Dan Romanelli as Chief Revenue Officer.
The appointments come as Quoreka continues to scale its AI-powered E/CTRM platform and respond to rising demand from customers managing more complex energy, agriculture and metals markets.
Brian will lead Quoreka’s global product and platform strategy, drawing on his background in commodities trading and his five years leading the company’s global sales organization. Dan will lead global go-to-market and revenue growth, bringing more than 30 years’ fintech experience across exchanges, broker-dealers, clearing firms and technology vendors.
“Quoreka is building the digital backbone for the essential resources and supply chains that power our world — and in today’s global environment that demands bold leadership,” said Bruce Boytim, CEO of Quoreka. “By elevating proven experts like Brian and Dan, we’re continuing our investment in people-driven leadership that will accelerate our growth.” Related News
U.S. Rig Count is up 3 from last week to 551 with oil rigs up 5 to 415, gas rigs down 1 to 128 and miscellaneous rigs down 1 to 8.
Canada Rig Count is unchanged from last week at 124 with oil rigs down 1 to 76, gas rigs up 1 to 48 and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 0.
International Rig Count is down 22 from last month to 1,036 with land rigs down 22 to 807, offshore unchanged at 229.
| Region | Period | Rig Count | Change |
| U.S.A | 15 May 2026 | 551 | +3 |
| Canada | 15 May 2026 | 124 | 0 |
| International | April 2026 | 1,036 | – 22 |
| Baker Hughes |
BW Energy has made final investment decision for the Bourdon development in the Dussafu license offshore Gabon and a campaign of new infill wells in the Golfinho license offshore Brazil. The combined total 2P reserves estimate is 68 million barrels of oil equivalents.
The two sanctioned projects reflect the Company’s growth strategy based on infrastructure-led phased developments, minimising capital at risk and delivering high returns. Combined they increase BW Energy’s net production target by approximately 10% to more than 100,000 barrels of oil per day in 2028, and contribute to the company sustaining that production level into the next decade. Read More
BW Energy delivered solid operational performance in the first quarter of 2026, advancing all major development projects on plan and cost. The start to the year has been marked by significant strategic progress, with final investment decision made on the Bourdon development and the Golfinho infill wells project. Combined with an extension of the highly prospective Dussafu Marin production licence and continued progress on the MaBoMo Phase 2, Maromba and Golfinho Boost developments, BW Energy is on track to increase net production to over 100,000 barrels per day in 2028 and create substantial long-term shareholder value. Read More
Seplat Energy has unveiled plans to deliver a $1 billion dividend payout to shareholders in the next four to five years as the indigenous energy firm intensifies efforts to expand production following the successful acquisition and integration of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited assets.
The company said the planned $1 billion dividend payout underscores its commitment to delivering stronger shareholder returns and sustaining value creation despite prevailing challenges in the energy industry. Seplat noted that it is already making progress towards the target, having declared a dividend of 35 cents for the current financial year, while assuring investors that its growth strategy and improved operational performance would continue to support consistent and enhanced returns over the medium term. Related News
Seplat Energy confirmed that the below currency exchange rate is applicable in determining the FY 2025 final and special dividend to shareholders that will receive the dividend payment in Naira (₦).
The exchange rate for the Naira amounts payable is the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market rate for May 14, 2026.
Exchange Rate: US$1 = ₦ 1,370.89
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