04 Mar Energy / Automotive news and analysis | Crude oil prices up
(Oilandgaspress) Israel reportedly ordered the temporary shutdown of some natural gas fields after launching an attack on Iran in a joint operation with the U.S. The halt is a security measure, the Energy Ministry said in a statement, without specifying the fields affected. Energean Plc, the operator of the Karish deposit, said it had been instructed to suspend production.
The move is a repeat of steps taken last year when Iran previously came under Israeli attack, and retaliated. Back in June, Israel shut its biggest gas field — Leviathan — as well as Karish, cutting off supplies to import-dependent Egypt.. Related News
Crude oil inventories in the United States increased by 3.5 million barrels during the week ending February 27, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Wednesday. The increase brings commercial stockpiles to 439.3 million barrels according to government data, which is still 3% below the five-year average for this time of year.
The EIA’s data release follows API’s figures that were released a day earlier, which reported that crude oil inventories rose by 5.6 million barrels in the period. Crude prices were trading down on Wednesday morning after significant price rises earlier in the week courtesy of Iraq production outages and supply fears with tanker traffic stalled in the Strait of Hormuz. Related News
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has said it maintains full control of the Strait of Hormuz, where United States President Donald Trump has said he is prepared to deploy the navy to escort tankers. “Currently, the Strait of Hormuz is under the complete control of the Islamic Republic’s Navy,” IRGC Navy official Mohammad Akbarzadeh said on Wednesday in a statement carried by Iran’s Fars news agency. Related News
| Oil and Gas Blends | Units | Oil Price | Change |
| Crude Oil (WTI) Oilprice | USD/bbl | $75.02 | Down |
| Crude Oil (Brent) | USD/bbl | $81.62 | Down |
| Bonny Light 03/03/26 CBN | USD/bbl | $81.74 | — |
| Dubai | USD/bbl | $68.40 | — |
| Natural Gas | USD/MMBtu | $2.91 | Down |
| Murban | USD/bbl | $82.12 | Down |
| OPEC basket 03/03/26 OPEC | USD/bbl | $81.00 | — |
| At press time 17:10 GMT, March 04, 2026 |
Energean plc confirms that it received notice from the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure on 28 February 2026 ordering the temporary suspension of production and activities of the Energean Power FPSO, following the recent geopolitical escalation in the region.
The safety of Energean’s staff is our top priority. Energean maintains a close dialogue with the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure and other relevant stakeholders to facilitate the safe resumption of production as soon as possible. Further updates will be provided as they become available.. Related News
The U.S. government will exempt the German units of Russian oil major Rosneft PJSC from sanctions indefinitely, Reuters reported on Wednesday, noting that the exemption applies to Rosneft Deutschland and RN Refining & Marketing, both of which have been under German federal trusteeship since 2022.
According to Germany’s Economy Minister Katherina Reiche, the U.S. issued a “Letter of Comfort” on Tuesday, acknowledging that the two businesses had been fully separated from their parent company in Russia. The indefinite status succeeds a previous temporary waiver that was set to expire on April 29, 2026. Related News
British Gas has been forced to take down a misleading advert which claimed that switching to a heat pump could save customers more than £500. The advertising watchdog found that the advert breached rules by omitting relevant information and making a claim that could not be substantiated. The advert said that switching to a heat pump and signing up to an exclusive British Gas tariff could save customers up to £546.
But the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) cited British Gas modelling which showed that just 34pc of 194 customers achieved the savings claim in the advert, with some expected to incur higher bills.
The ASA noted that price claims such as “up to” must not exaggerate the availability or amount of benefits likely to be obtained by the consumer. Related News
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Wednesday expressed “serious concern” over the heightened tension in the Middle East, urging the “immediate cessation of hostilities.”
In a statement, the top diplomats said that ASEAN is closely monitoring developments following airstrikes launched by Israel and the United States against Iran on Saturday and the subsequent retaliatory attacks by Iran against several countries in the region. Related News
Porsche has opened the next chapter in the history of its one-make series: Around 120 examples of the new Porsche 911 Cup have now been delivered to teams. Drivers from the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup have already familiarised themselves with the latest 911 cup car at the Formula 1 racetrack in Barcelona. All cars were still in their original GT Silver Metallic colour when the new Porsche 911 Cup made its European racetrack debut at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Teams from the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup and the Porsche Sixt Carrera Cup Deutschland came together for the first time to unveil the newly developed one-make cup car. The Porsche Carrera Cup Asia in Zhuhai, China and the Porsche Carrera Cup North America in Sebring, Florida had already completed their first shakedown. Around 120 of the new Porsche 911 Cup cars will compete in these four series in the 2026 season. . Related News
Baker Hughes Rig Count: International +14 to 1,079, U.S. -1 to 550 Canada -10 to 214
U.S. Rig Count is down 1 from last week to 550 with oil rigs down 2 to 407, gas rigs up 1 to 134 and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 9.
Canada Rig Count is down 10 from last week to 214 with oil rigs down 8 to 145, gas rigs down 2 to 69 and miscellaneous unchanged at 0
International Rig Count is up 14 from last month to 1,079 with land rigs up 3 to 839, offshore up 11 to 231. International Rig Count is down 20 rigs from last year’s count of 1,099, with land rigs down 7, offshore rigs down 13.
| Region | Period | Rig Count | Change |
| U.S.A | 27 February 2026 | 550 | -1 |
| Canada | 27 February 2026 | 214 | -10 |
| International | January 2026 | 1,079 | +14 |
| Baker Hughes |
The BMW Group Additive Manufacturing Campus (AMC) is setting the course for the next stage of industrialization. Under the new leadership of Timo Göbel, additive manufacturing will be further integrated across all phases of the vehicle life cycle, with open-material and highly automated systems and a clear focus on quality. Additive Manufacturing (AM) is firmly embedded throughout the entire product life cycle of the BMW Group. From conceptual ideas and prototype production to series production and aftersales applications, additive manufacturing components are used across all stages. The technology is also an integral part of the BMW Group production system.
AM components are now used in series production vehicles across all BMW Group brands – from MINI to BMW and Rolls‑Royce all the way to BMW Motorrad.. Related News
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