The 2026 Iran war and the disruption to LNG flows through the Strait of Hormuz have increased global gas price volatility, which has fed directly into European power markets.
European gas prices fell to near seven-week lows on the afternoon of Friday 17th April 2026, on news the Strait of Hormuz would be fully open to commercial shipping, but traders and analysts remained cautious, according to Montel.
Middle East conflict has elevated strategic energy security priorities as countries seek supply diversification, international shale exploration can play a key role in meeting those goals, according to new research from Wood Mackenzie, titled “A hydrocarbon copy: the upstream industry’s return to international shale exploration”.
DNV, the independent energy expert and assurance provider, in collaboration with the international energy company Equinor, has introduced a new incident taxonomy that helps organisations improve how they classify, understand, and learn from incidents.
Wood Mackenzie report that prolonged disruption to Middle East energy supplies could accelerate a structural shift in global energy systems, halving oil and gas import dependence by 2050 and reducing oil demand by 20% and gas demand by 10% relative to the base case.
The European bellwether front-month gas contract on the Dutch TTF hub initially dropped to EUR 42.50/MWh on Ice Endex this morning, its lowest since 2 March, before recovering slightly to EUR 43.46/MWh, at the time of writing.
War in the Middle East has triggered severe global supply disruptions in oil and gas, with reported damage and shutdowns affecting liquefied natural gas (LNG) trains, refineries, fuel terminals and critical gas-to-liquids facilities across the region.
Rystad Energy analysis shows that in a worst-case scenario, Middle East crude output could fall to approximately 6 million bpd, a region-wide reduction of 70% from the pre-conflict baseline.