President Donald Trump said the U.S. will attempt to "free" stranded ships that have been trapped by the Strait of Hormuz closure since the war with Iran began , launching what could be one of the most complex maritime operations in recent memory. The effort, which Trump in a Truth Social post dubbed "Project Freedom," is set to begin on Monday .

The United States will launch an effort on Monday to "guide" stranded ships from the Iran-gripped Strait of Hormuz, giving few details about what could be a sweeping effort to help hundreds of vessels and some 20,000 seafarers , according to PBS. Centcom said the effort would include guided-missile destroyers, over 100 land and sea-based aircraft, drones and 15,000 service members . A quarter of the world's oil trade at sea and significant volumes of fuel and fertilizer products are transported through the strait , according to U.S. Central Command.

The announcement sent oil prices lower after weeks of volatility. According to market data, WTI crude traded at $71.50 per barrel on Sunday, up 0.6%, while Brent crude stood at $75.20 per barrel, up 0.5%. Oil prices have surged nearly 60% since the war began on February 28, with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz disrupting about a fifth of global oil flows , according to Trading Economics.

OPEC+ Signals Business as Usual Despite UAE Exit

OPEC+ has agreed to a modest, largely symbolic oil output increase for June as the United States-Israel war on Iran disrupts Gulf supplies through the Strait of Hormuz, with the seven participating countries deciding to implement a production adjustment of 188 thousand barrels per day , Al Jazeera reported. The move comes just days after the United Arab Emirates quit the cartel.

The move is designed to show the group is ready to raise supplies once the war stops and signals that OPEC+ is pressing on with a business-as-usual approach despite the departure of the UAE , according to OPEC+ sources cited by Reuters. U.S. crude oil futures fell 3% to close at $101.94 per barrel on Friday, while the international benchmark Brent crude lost nearly 2% to settle at $108.17, with both nearly 78% higher since the start of 2026 , CNBC reported.

Shell Makes $16.4 Billion Canadian Bet

In a dramatic reversal of Big Oil's decade-long retreat from Canada, British oil major Shell on Monday said it agreed a deal to buy Canadian energy company ARC Resources in an output-boosting deal valued at $16.4 billion , according to CNBC. The transaction will add roughly 370,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day to Shell's portfolio and is designed to increase the London-listed firm's long-term oil and gas production .

While Shell followed the energy supermajor trend of exiting Canadian oil sands in the prior decade, Shell's acquisition of ARC places new emphasis on the natural-gas-heavy Montney region of British Columbia and Alberta, which is relatively cleaner than the thick oil sands and more resembles U.S. shale plays , Fortune reported. The long inventory life assets acquired in this transaction will help feed Canada's only active LNG facility at a time of global energy uncertainty, where many countries are re-evaluating where they source and how they manage their energy needs , according to TGS analysis.

With its reserve life index below 10 years, Shell is using the acquisition to move away from low-profit green energy and secure decades of profitable Canadian oil and gas , said John Stevenson, an oil and gas analyst at Granite Point Research, according to BNN Bloomberg.

Trump Approves "Keystone Light" Pipeline

President Donald Trump granted a key approval Thursday for a major new oil pipeline from Canada into the U.S. that's been dubbed "Keystone Light" over its similarities to a contentious project blocked by the Biden administration , Spectrum Local News reported. The three-foot-wide Bridger Pipeline Expansion would carry up to 550,000 barrels of oil a day from Canada through Montana and Wyoming, where it would link with another pipeline .

Trump signed a presidential permit on Thursday authorizing the Bridger Pipeline Expansion, with construction expected to begin in 2027 with a goal of completion by late 2028 or early 2029 , OilPrice.com reported. At peak volume, the 650-mile pipeline would move two-thirds as much oil as the better-known Keystone XL pipeline that got partially built before President Joe Biden, citing climate change, canceled its permit on the day he took office in 2021 , according to RedState.

The approval drew immediate criticism from environmental groups. "We know that if this project goes through, our land and our water are in danger. Our future is in danger," warned Krystal Two Bulls, one of many community, conservation, and Indigenous group leaders speaking out after President Donald Trump granted a cross-border permit to what critics called "nothing more than an attempt to resurrect the unpopular Keystone XL pipeline" , Common Dreams reported.

Wind Industry Faces National Security Roadblock

President Donald Trump's administration has brought U.S. onshore wind development to a halt, citing national security concerns, with approvals for about 165 onshore wind projects on private lands being held up by the Pentagon , the Financial Times reported, citing the American Clean Power Association. Letters sent to developers in early April said the Pentagon was reviewing its processes for evaluating the impact of energy projects on national security , according to the FT.

The Trump administration has previously faced lawsuits after pausing wind projects after it cited new classified national security risks from radar interference, with wind developers facing repeated disruptions under Trump, who says wind turbines are ugly, expensive and inefficient , Reuters reported.

Egypt Raises Industrial Gas Prices

Egypt has raised natural gas prices for several energy-intensive industries starting in May, according to a prime ministerial decree published on Sunday , Reuters reported. The decree raised the price of gas by an average of $2, reaching $14 per million British thermal units for cement factories, $7.75 for iron and steel, non-nitrogen fertilisers and petrochemicals, and between $6.50 and $6.75 for other industrial activities and petrochemical plants producing ethane and propane mixtures .

The government has already raised domestic fuel prices by up to 17% in March in response to soaring global energy costs, and is seeking to reduce fuel and electricity subsidies under an $8 billion programme agreed with the International Monetary Fund , according to Business Recorder.

The moves across oil, gas, and renewable sectors underscore how geopolitical tensions, corporate strategy shifts, and policy decisions continue to reshape global energy markets. With Project Freedom set to begin Monday morning Middle East time, traders will be watching closely to see whether the U.S. can successfully navigate one of the world's most contested waterways—and whether oil prices will finally find stability.