Iran Peace Talks Fail
It is always interesting to compare and contrast the reaction of the stock market to events, particularly geopolitical ones. This week was something of a case study in terms of the stock market’s behaviour and events, as well as its method of anticipating the result of peace talks in Islamabad between Iran and the US. They failed. But going into the weekend the FTSE 100 remained firm near 10,600, up 10% off recent lows, and WTI oil was sinking towards $90, more than 20% off its highs. So as far as investors were concerned, the worst was perhaps over. It would appear as of Sunday morning that this is not the case. That said, the statistic that 20% of the world’s oil flows throw the Strait of Hormuz, which means that the bulk of our oil supply comes from other spaces. Given that we have known since the 1973 Oil Embargo that being dependent on this area of the world is folly, not withstanding the human rights angle, it may be time to double down on other areas of the world. For instance, has anyone looked at the North Sea? We are of course having the whole Net Zero issue shoved down our throats, but perhaps combining this with ramping up renewable energy could be a benefit. And of course, there are always electric vehicles.
A subject very close to the current energy crisis, and one that is a solution for it comes from Hydrogen Utopia (HUI), where its original waste plastic to hydrogen mantra has been transformed into waste plastic to sustainable aviation fuel. As ACF Equity Research said this week in its research note: Hydrogen Utopia is expecting to deliver Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in Saudi Arabia (KSA) by 2028. SAF is a ‘green fuel’ (feedstock H2). There are policy mandated revenues in Saudi and the EU, airlines have to buy Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) as part of their energy mix. HUI’s H2 is derived from unrecyclable unsorted plastics in a waste to energy (WtE) process using a commercially proven (TRL9) super high heat plasma and plasma polishing technology licensed exclusively to HUI for MENA, from InEnTech. The KSA has a recognized need, huge waste feed stock and a public policy framework via its Vision 2030 to solve its unrecyclable plastics waste and SAF supply problem. One can read the initiation note here: https://bit.ly/HUI-Initiation-PivotToRegulationDrivenRevs
So far shares of HUI have jumped 22% on the week, boosted by the ongoing Iran situation, as well as reports that airlines are facing fuel shortages in coming weeks, something which could affect the half term holidays. One would expect the stock to finally have its day in the sun as it becomes a SAF play. In fact, HUI was in the news this week for a couple of reasons. The other one was that it is seeking to use Powerhouse Energy’s (PHE) waste energy to hydrogen technology in Poland.
A company which is rebooting itself is Wildcat Petroleum (WCAT) which has in the past couple of months announced that it is pivoting to gold processing, and moving from the main market to Aquis. It will need a £2m market cap to list there, versus the £1.5m market cap it finished the week on after a 42% rise on Friday. Perhaps someone knows that the company is on its way as far as its new ambitions?
Speaking of ambitions, it was a good week for Zenith Energy (ZEN), with the shares of the renewable energy play rising a respectable 27% on the week. Clearly, the market has worked out that in the current environment ZEN is going to be a beneficiary. But it did help that the company announced the appointment of Charles Michel, former President of the European Council and Julie Spinelli, to beef up its legal team against the mega claim it is fighting against the Republic of Tunisia.
Another company fighting the good fight has been Ascent Resources (AST). Last month the onshore US focused oil and gas company, said it has been advised that it expects to hear an update on the timing for the issuance of the award from the Republic of Slovenia on or around 30 April 2026. It is worth remembering that AST has been seeking up to €656.5m from our Slovenian friends, not far off what Zenith Energy is looking to get from Tunisia, also our friends of course.
A stock which is rarely out of the limelight these days, partly due to the crackpot commentary it continues to get for clickbait purposes, is KEFI (KEFI). Here the exploration and development company focused on gold and copper projects in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, advised that an updated Company presentation has been uploaded to the Company’s website: https://www.kefi-goldandcopper.com. It is also reassuring that some of London’s great and good in terms of the professional investor community are on the case as far as singing KEFI’s praises, rather than just the PR protection racket brigade.
There were a couple of companies in the small cap space that reminded one that not only every dog can have its day, but also that it can be a mistake to write off even the most flimsy looking situations. Indeed, BSF (BSFA) has been revived by the arrival of the unveiling of the world’s first handbag made from cultivated T-Rex Leather™ via its wholly owned subsidiary Lab-Grown Leather Ltd. Apparently the “one-of-a-kind” luxury handbag is now on display up until 10 May 2026 at the Art Zoo Museum in Amsterdam. Be there or be square. Oh yes, and apparently it is not actually made of real T Rex skin, and has nothing to do with Marc Bolan.
