The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday edition that the conflict in Iran is shaking up oil and gas markets, as countries that face a severe supply crunch look for stable supplies and try to increase their energy independence. The Globe's Emma Graney writes that despite a precarious ceasefire in the conflict brokered this week, the effect of the war on global markets shows no signs of letting up. The Strait of Hormuz essentially remains closed and Iranian attacks on energy infrastructure continue. The sky-high oil prices have boosted the balance sheets of Canadian oil companies. They already had strong balance sheets when the United States and Israel began bombing Iran, but cash flows since then have been significant, said Menno Hulshof at TD Securities. "What that ultimately means for a lot of different companies is that they're going to get to their net debt targets a lot faster than we would have thought six weeks ago," he said. Still, the cash windfall is unlikely to trigger significant growth. "Companies are always -- and should be -- very reluctant to layer on additional growth capital on geopolitical events where we don't have visibility on what the outcome is ultimately going to look like," Mr. Hulshof said.