REFILE: 'Nodding Donkey' oil pumps work around clock as crude prices surge past $109

Record ID: 2367405

  • Title: REFILE: 'Nodding Donkey' oil pumps work around clock as crude prices surge past $109
  • Date: 19th March 2026
  • Summary: ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (FILE - DECEMBER 3, 2025) (REUTERS) ***WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** VARIOUS OF MCLAREN DRIVER LANDO NORRIS POSING NEXT TO RACE CAR NORRIS POSING NEXT TO MCLAREN CEO, ZAK BROWN SINGAPORE (FILE - SEPTEMBER 28, 2022) (REUTERS) NORRIS GETTING INTO LIFE-SIZED LEGO MODEL OF HIS FORMULA ONE CAR NORRIS SITTING IN LEGO MODEL AND TURNING STE
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: conflict donkey france gulf hormuz iran israel markets military noddling oil peace states united war
  • Location: VAUDOY-EN-BRIE, FRANCE
  • City: VAUDOY-EN-BRIE, FRANCE
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Commodities Markets,Europe,Economic Events
  • Reuters ID: LVA001540119032026RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: From the micro oilfields of northern France to the gigantic reservoirs of the Middle East, the ‘Nodding Donkey’ oil pump is a symbol of the global energy crisis, slowly pumping crude to the surface of the planet.
    In peacetime and wartime, as prices crash and then surge, the one constant of the oil industry is the pumpjack. Powered by an electric motor, it silently brings crude oil to the surface of the earth and is a constant across all continents.
    The slow motion of the Nodding Donkey has over the decades come to symbolize energy and industrialization across every continent of the world.
    The images of this miniscule oilfield northeast of Paris were shot on Wednesday (March 19). But they could speak for anywhere in the world where oil is pumped. Crude prices have surged from around $60-70 a barrel before the Israeli-US bombing campaign on Iran to around $109 at the close of trading in Europe on Thursday. 
    (Production: Yann Tessier)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2026. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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