The Take

The Take: Could OPEC break lead to era of energy volatility?

How unstable is the global oil market?

An employee wearing a protective hat looks on at a burning furnace in an oil company. — An employee of Basra Oil Company inspects the Nahr Bin Umar Oil and Gas Field on the outskirts of the southern Iraqi city of Basra on April 29, 2026. Earlier this month, Baghdad said it had reached "understandings" with the United States and Iran to reduce the impact of the Hormuz blockade on Iraqi oil exports [Hussien Faleh/AFP]

Iran has attacked a United Arab Emirates petroleum site in Fujairah, just days after the UAE announced it was leaving OPEC. As the Strait of Hormuz crisis deepens and oil prices keep rising, could this accelerate the shift to renewables, or are we heading into an era of energy volatility?

In this episode:

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Jim Krane (@jimkrane), Co-director of the Middle East Energy Roundtable, Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by David Enders and Sari el-Khalili with Chloe K Li, Catherine Nouhan, Tuleen Barakat, and our guest host, Kevin Hirten. It was edited by Tamara Khandaker.

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer.

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