European oil and gas stocks rise as U.S. prepares to blockade Iran

Var Energi ASA

13/04/2026 08:24

** Shares in European oil companies rise as the U.S. Navy prepares to block ships to and from Iran via the Strait of Hormuz after negotiations failed to reach a deal

** U.S. Central Command said U.S. forces would begin implementing the blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports at 10 a.m. ET (1400 GMT) on Monday

** Brent crude futures LCOc1 rose 7.3% to $102.16 a barrel by 0430 GMT and U.S. West Texas Intermediate CLc1 was up 8.4%, at $104.69 a barrel

** That number might still be too low, according to Onyx Capital Group Managing Director Jorge Montepeque, who told Bloomberg Television that if the U.S. goes ahead with the interdiction, prices should rise to $140 or $150

** Shares in Shell SHEL.L and TotalEnergies TTEF.PA climb about 1%, while BP BP.L and Orlen PKN.WA rise 1.5% and 2%, respectively

** Norway's Equinor EQNR.OL, Var Energi VAR.OL and Aker BP AKRBP.OL are up 3.5-4.5%

** Repsol REP.MC, Maurel & Prom MAUP.PA, Eni ENI.MI and Galp GALP.LS rise about 2%

** Verbio VBKG.DE jumps about 8%

(Reporting by Javi West Larrañaga)

((javier.west@thomsonreuters.com; +34 918 35 61 12))