Tillerson ouster shakes up energy diplomacy
American policy towards Iran and Venezuela will likely grow harsher, injecting more risk into energy markets
Rex Tillerson is out as US secretary of state after being unceremoniously sacked by his boss via Twitter this week. Oil spiked briefly on the news, but quickly reversed on short-term worries over surging US supply and ended the day down. But Tillerson's ouster is likely to be bullish for oil in the months ahead. The former ExxonMobil CEO was both pilloried for his performance leading the State Department, but also seen at home and in foreign capitals as a moderating influence within the Trump administration. His apparent successor Mike Pompeo, who has been heading up the CIA, will bring a harder version of Trump's "America First" philosophy to the diplomatic scene. On Iran, Tillerson had pub
Also in this section
13 May 2024
But optimism about island nation checked by competition around African upstream investment and history of false dawns
10 May 2024
The US’ contentious LNG permitting pause has prompted criticism from CEOs and wildly differing interpretations from politicians
9 May 2024
Pipeline boosts Canada’s oil industry by widening its export options, making it less reliant on US market and bringing Asia into the mix