May 2026 – Week 2
As part of an expanded focus on real-time coverage, this live blog tracks developments across global energy markets, including electricity prices, oil and gas benchmarks, and renewable generation trends.
It is updated throughout the week with the most significant developments around energy and related markets with a sustainability lens.
Last week’s live blog can be found here.
Key developments we are tracking this week:
- Volatility across oil, gas and electricity markets
- Clean energy’s response to the energy crisis
- Policy shifts driven by the energy crisis
Latest
Monday 11th of May 2026
11:10 GMT
Coal demand: Data released by the analytics platform Kpler shows that as the energy crisis starts to bite harder, coal demand and coal imports are increasing, with many countries rethinking their easing on coal reliance.
11:00 GMT
Oil price: After several days with little movement on oil futures, they have jumped on Monday morning as the Asian and European markets opened.
Both Brent Crude and WTI are up around 2% compared to the end of Friday trading. The lack of progress on peace negotiations between the US and Iran, with Trump having rejected Iran’s latest peace proposal as “Totally unacceptable”.
Saturday 9th of May 2026
23:10 GMT
Oil spill: Satellite images on Friday detected an oil spill in the Iranian waters near the critical oil port terminal Kharg Island.
09:20 GMT
Shipping: The world’s largest shipping company, Denmark’s Maersk, yesterday offered a different perspective that the disruption to the Strait of Hormuz is not the key constraint, and the opening of it may not change that much.
The Danish shipping giant argued that cargo traffic is down due to the high oil price and the resulting drastic rise in fuel prices.
The Maersk comments came as the company announced disappointing Q1 earnings with net profit for January to March falling to $100m, which is around 12 times lower than a year earlier.
Friday 8th of May 2026
14:10 GMT
Company updates: The global oil and gas giant, Shell Plc, is the latest oil major to report larger-than-expected profit earnings.
In the first quarter of 2026, the company at $6.9 billion, reached its highest first-quarter profit figures for two years, which has prompted it to increase shareholder dividends to 5%.
14:00 GMT
Jet fuel: In April global jet fuel exports hit a ten-year, seasonal low.
09:50 GMT
Electricity generation: Analysis conducted by Carbon Brief shows that due to strong renewable energy generation in the UK, the country has avoided the need for gas imports worth £1.7bn since the start of the Iran war.
Wind and solar have generated a record 21 terawatt hours (TWh) on the island of Great Britain since the end of February 2026, when the US and Israel first attacked Iran.
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