Monday, 13 July 2026

China pressed for shipping to move freely through the Strait of Hormuz, according to Rigzone.

Speaking at a regular press briefing in Beijing on Friday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said an early return to safe and unimpeded passage in the strait "serves the interests of all parties."

A dispute over who pays to transit the waterway remains unresolved. Rigzone reported that leading European powers appear willing to accept that vessels will have to pay fees to Iran and Oman for passage. The US and Gulf Arab countries continue to reject any charges by Iran and Oman for the strait, according to Rigzone.

In March, Beijing had urged parties to the fighting to guarantee the safe passage of ships through the strait, Rigzone reported.

China is the world's largest oil and gas importer, according to Rigzone.

Canada's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Tim Hodgson announced more than CAD 26 million in funding for 17 clean energy projects across Alberta and Saskatchewan, according to Natural Resources Canada. The announcement was made on the margins of the Calgary Stampede.

The funding targets clean technology deployment, energy system modernization, emissions reduction, and building regulatory, industrial and workforce capacity for long-term economic growth and energy security, Natural Resources Canada said.

The largest tranche directs CAD 14.9 million to 10 projects covering energy storage, solar and wind development, interprovincial electricity transmission planning, Indigenous-led clean energy projects and workforce development, according to Natural Resources Canada.

A further CAD 5.9 million supports engineering and design work on two facilities that will convert waste biomass to renewable natural gas with carbon capture, the department said.

Indigenous Services Canada contributed CAD 649,000 to electricity projects led by Indigenous groups for pre-development work on solar energy projects, according to Natural Resources Canada.

The funding flows in part through the Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways Program, a CAD 4.5 billion program designed to support grid modernization, energy storage and renewable energy technologies across Canada, the department said.

The package builds on a June 26 commitment at the 2026 Energy and Mine Ministers' Conference to support intertie transmission projects linking Yukon and British Columbia, Alberta and British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan, and Saskatchewan and Manitoba, according to Natural Resources Canada.

Canada's National Electricity Strategy aims to double the capacity of the country's grid by 2050, the department said.

Canada announced more than CAD 26 million in funding for 17 clean energy projects across Alberta and Saskatchewan, according to Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Tim Hodgson on July 4, 2026.

Natural Resources Canada said the projects will accelerate deployment of clean technology, modernize energy systems and infrastructure, reduce emissions, and build regulatory, industrial, and workforce capacity.

The University of Calgary received CAD 4,218,000 for a project on inter-provincial transmission expansion in Western Canada, according to Natural Resources Canada.

Clean Communities Corp. received CAD 3,900,000 to deploy a 5-MWh / 2.5-MW battery energy storage system integrated with the existing 4-MW SunRISE Solar Facility in Cardston, Alberta, according to the department.

Kainai Pe-na-koyim Renewable Energy Centre GP Corp. received CAD 2,000,000 for pre-development and workforce-related activities tied to a proposed 300 MW wind energy farm on Blood Tribe Reserve #148 near Lethbridge, Alberta, per Natural Resources Canada.

The Neyaskweyahk Group of Companies received CAD 1,479,750 for feasibility work on the Kâpîtisimotêt Solar project, a 112-MW solar plant with a 30.2-MW battery energy storage system on Ermineskin Cree Nation, according to the department.

Six oil and gas freighters were observed navigating a route that cleaves close to Oman's coast in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Rigzone. Western navies say the threat risk is substantial and that the center of the strait has been mined.

Traffic along the Omani route has swung sharply from day to day. On Saturday, 19 vessels crossed the strait in either direction, but only one openly signaled its inbound transit along the Omani coast, according to Kpler data. That compares with Friday's count of 13 along the route.

Over Friday and Saturday, at least eight vessels were seen U-turning as they sailed through along the Omani route.

Iran has repeatedly said vessels should only transit the strait through the route designated and authorized by the Islamic Republic. The Joint Maritime Intelligence Center said on Sunday that Iranian forces continue to harass shipping.

The oil market is still recovering from a historic four-month crisis.

The UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) set out an updated government response on 6 July 2026, changing two policies before the opening of Allocation Round 8 and adding clarification on connection requirements.

Under the plan, DESNZ will revise the Contracts for Difference (Allocation) Regulations 2014 so that NESO can fix certain delivery body errors. The same change lets NESO weigh fresh documentary evidence when it reviews Tier 1 appeals tied to non-qualifying applications.

A second revision to the Allocation Regulations addresses how pending applications are handled, informed by what DESNZ learned running Allocation Round 7 in 2025.

The response also proposes a new technology category, Other Deepwater Offshore Wind (ODOW). DESNZ said the category would let foundation designs for deepwater sites bid for CfD support.

For floating offshore wind, DESNZ proposed extending the Longstop Period and cutting the Required Installed Capacity threshold, citing the scale and complexity of future projects.

The consultation behind the response opened at 10am on 16 December 2025 and closed at 11:59pm on 30 January 2026, according to DESNZ.

Coal mine cost-benefit analyses in New South Wales rely on technical guidance that has not been updated since 2018, according to IEEFA.

In its assessment, IEEFA found that coal miners account for only between 0.11% and 0.33% of emissions created in NSW in their analyses, and apply a cost of carbon materially lower than NSW Treasury values.

The cost-benefit analyses draw on the Technical Notes for the Guidelines for the Economic Assessment of Mining and Coal Seam Projects, IEEFA said.

The NSW Treasury published the NSW Government Guide to Cost-Benefit Analysis in February 2023, and updated it in April 2025, according to IEEFA. The guide states that the cost of carbon emissions occurring in NSW is a mandatory requirement in cost-benefit analyses.

The High Court of Australia heard an appeal to the NSW Court of Appeal ruling on 13 May 2026 but has not yet given its verdict, IEEFA said.