Saturday, 11 July 2026

Brent crude fell under USD 73/bbl once the US and Iran committed to stop attacking each other, according to World Oil.

The Strait of Hormuz handles about a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas flows, World Oil reported. Vessel traffic through the waterway had picked up after the June 17 memorandum meant to end fighting, then eased again over the weekend when fresh military exchanges tested the ceasefire, the outlet said.

Iranian officials said no meeting had been formally set and would not confirm Qatar as a venue.

Tehran recently discussed the future management of the strait with Oman, Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said, per World Oil. The US, European governments and Gulf Arab states have pushed back against any plan that would levy transit fees on ships crossing the strait, the report added.

US officials arrived in Qatar for talks on the Iran war but will meet with mediators rather than Iranian negotiators, according to Semafor Net Zero.

The indirect format leaves the standoff over the Strait of Hormuz unresolved. The Guardian reported that every inch of the 24-mile-wide waterway is being contested in a test of wills and patience.

Divisions within Iran's leadership shape the negotiating posture. The Wall Street Journal reported that hardline military officials are pushing for full control of Hormuz, while civilian leaders including President Masoud Pezeshkian are aiming to secure access to billions in frozen assets.

The federal government has presented its Solar Sharer scheme as a way for renters and households without rooftop solar to share in Australia's clean energy boom, according to RenewEconomy.

RenewEconomy notes that the households most likely to take up the scheme, and to benefit most from it, are those who already own home batteries, rooftop solar and electric vehicles.

Ronald Brakels of SolarQuotes argues the scheme may be what Australia's electricity grid needs, according to RenewEconomy.

A senior administration official said US negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff held constructive meetings with regional leaders in Qatar, while technical-level talks with Iran continue to advance.

The interim agreement signed earlier this month set up a 60-day window for negotiations, though talks stumbled in recent days following clashes over the Strait of Hormuz, according to Rigzone.

Under that interim deal, Iran agreed to waive tolls for 60 days, while leaving room to charge ships fees once the window closes, Rigzone reported.

The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed US officials, reported that Trump ruled out restarting a broad military campaign. He told staff he had no objection to negotiations running past the Aug. 18 deadline, the newspaper said.

Management of the strait sits at the center of the talks. Before the fighting, the passage carried about a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas supplies, according to Rigzone.

Oil moved up in early Asia trading after falling the previous session on expectations the ceasefire would hold.

CATL resumed operations at its lithium mine in Jiangxi on 29 June, ending a shutdown that lasted almost a year, according to electrive.

Chinese authorities had refused to renew the company's licence to mine lithium in Jiangxi province after it expired in August 2025, electrive reported. The resumption came significantly later than the three-month suspension originally communicated.

The mine and its associated refinery have an annual production capacity of around 100,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate, according to electrive. Before the previous licence expired, Chinese media reported the mine accounted for between eight and ten per cent of China's total lithium carbonate production.

The company had previously obtained the required safety approval from the authorities before resuming operations, electrive reported. That step is also seen as an indication that the Chinese government is satisfied with the now stabilised lithium price environment.

Nairobi and Kigali have concluded three agreements to widen Rwanda's access to petroleum imports, Semafor Net Zero reported.

All of Rwanda's petroleum products arrive overland, routed through two ports: one at Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and one at Mombasa in Kenya, according to Semafor Net Zero. Under the new arrangements, a larger share of Rwandan fuel is set to move along the Mombasa route.

Semafor Net Zero reported that Rwanda and other African energy importers have been hit hard by the Iran war and the de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a corridor that carried much of Africa's fuel before the conflict.

Nigeria's Dangote Group said it wants to expand its oil refining capacity in the coming years and open a further refinery in East Africa, according to Semafor Net Zero.

EVelution Energy LLC has started construction on a solar facility to power its planned cobalt processing plant in Yuma County, Arizona, according to Solar Builder. The critical minerals firm is building the array to supply the processing site with dedicated renewable power.

The project represents a $450 million investment and will supply 28 MW of solar power over 150 acres, company officials told Solar Builder.

Construction of the solar array is expected to continue through the rest of 2026 and into 2027, according to company plans cited by Solar Builder. The cobalt processing plant will come online by the end of 2029.

The plant will process about 24,000 metric tons of cobalt hydroxide annually, producing up to 3,000 metric tons of alloy-grade cobalt metal, according to Solar Builder. Its products will yield up to 20,000 metric tons of cobalt sulfate, a component for EV batteries.

Excess solar energy will go into battery storage, the company said, and additional excess will be routed to the local energy grid.

Australia has formally committed to a new global electrification initiative called Electrify Now, launched as part of London Climate Action Week, according to pv magazine. The country made the commitment alongside Canada and the United Kingdom, which reiterated their shared commitment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the goals of the Paris Agreement, pv magazine reported.

Federal Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen made the commitment formal, joined by Canada's Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Nature Julie Dabrusin and the UK Minister for Climate Katie White, according to pv magazine.

The three nations collectively installed around 12 GW of renewable energy capacity in 2025, pv magazine reported.

The first coalition of Electrify Now also includes the European Commission, Brazil, Turkiye, Ethiopia, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, the International Energy Agency, and the International Renewable Energy Agency, according to pv magazine.

The group will support the COP31 Presidency's new global target to raise electrification to 35% of final energy demand by 2035, pv magazine reported.