News roundup, 30 April 2026

- The price of oil has reached its highest level since 2022 following reports that the US is considering new attacks on Iran and that the country's ports could be blockaded for months.

- The United Arab Emirates has announced that they will be withdrawing from OPEC as of tomorrow. While this will probably not have an immediate impact on oil prices (UAE oil still has to pass through the Strait of Hormuz) it will be perceived as a win for Trump, who has railed against OPEC for a long time.

- Several human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, have issued travel advisories for the US in the leadup to the World Cup.

- Buying a business jet to fly himself around in is far from the worst thing Doug Ford has done in terms of actual impacts on Ontario and its people (just consider all the measures he's taken against sensible urbanist policies by municipal governments, for instance), but it seems to be the one thing that could cause problems for his reelection - his party is now in a statistical tie with the Liberals according to a recent poll. That said, the jet purchase was bad enough, especially given that the aircraft wouldn't have been able to use small airports anyway.

- Bell Canada is opening a data centre in the Centreport complex in Rosser, Manitoba, just outside Winnipeg. While this is in keeping with an announcement last fall from the premier that more data centres would be built to support "sovereign AI", many are questioning whether this is the best use of the 5.5 MW of electricity it requires (enough to power thousands of homes).

- Former Mount Royal University professor Frances Widdowson, who has come under fire for her, er, "alternative" understanding of the residential school system, was escorted off the University of Lethbridge campus and fined $600 for trespassing. Widdowson had been the subject of a trespass notice by the university since February when she attempted to hold an unsanctioned event on campus that drew a large number of protesters.

More oil news...

Further to yesterday's post about peak oil, the International Energy Agency is very concerned about what will happen as the price rises:

Recovery in the world's biggest economies could be jeopardized if crude oil prices stay over $80 (U.S.) per barrel, the International Energy Agency said Tuesday.

The IEA also reported that OPEC posted the first “significant drop” in output in March in more than a year – falling 190,000 barrels per day to 29 million barrels a day – largely due to a near 10-per cent drop in Iraqi output.

The agency, the energy arm of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a grouping of the world's richest nations, said concerns remain that global oil markets are “overheated,” with crude around $85 per barrel.

“Ultimately, things might turn messy for producers if $80-100 (per barrel) is merely seen as the new $60-80 (per barrel), stunting economic recovery while prompting resurgent non-oil and non-OPEC supply investment,” the Paris-based IEA said in its monthly oil market report.

From the Globe. The use of the word "overheated" is interesting, as it would seem to suggest that the current oil prices don't reflect fundamentals. But if peak oil is as close as yesterday's post suggests, oil might well be undervalued. Also interesting is the comment about "resurgent non-oil and non-OPEC supply investment"; they seem to think this is a bad thing. Admittedly, some of it is (given that it could include stuff like the tar sands, coal liquefaction, etc) but this could also include proper investment in better alternatives. I have my doubts that the IEA wants this, though. Indeed, they've been accused of distorting their numbers to avoid rocking the boat, presumably because it might lead to investment in alternatives before the established energy companies can corner the market.