In Jurassic Park, Dr. Ian Malcolm delivers one of cinema’s most memorable lines: “Life finds a way.” Nature adapts, persists, and routes around obstacles no matter how carefully the fences are built. In the summer of 2026, crude oil is doing the same thing. Blockades and attacks have choked the Strait of Hormuz and the […]
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On the morning of August 21, 2026, Ukrainian drones struck the Lukoil-Permnefteorgsintez oil refinery in Russia’s Perm Krai, more than 1,500 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. Thick black smoke rose over the facility, one of Russia’s 10 largest refineries with a design capacity of around 13 million metric tons of crude per year (approximately 262,000 […]
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In an August 20, 2026, Bloomberg Opinion column, Javier Blas argued that “choking Iran’s economy is the least bad way to end the war.” Drawing on firsthand observations of sanctions-induced collapse in Iraq, Venezuela, and Cuba—worthless currencies, skyrocketing inflation, and soaring unemployment—Blas noted that pure economic pressure has historically failed to force political change. U.S. […]
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The ambitious plan to build a major new crude oil export route from Iraq through Syria to the Mediterranean—explicitly designed to reduce dependence on the Strait of Hormuz—will require at least four years of construction and an investment of $15 billion or more, according to sources directly involved in the project speaking to Reuters on […]
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The American continents—North and South America combined—have reached a landmark in global energy: roughly 42 million barrels per day of total liquids production. This figure, drawn from recent assessments of crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs), other petroleum fuels, ethanol, and biodiesel, marks a decisive shift in the world’s oil map. It has already surpassed […]
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Saudi Arabia is offering to sell crude oil cargoes on a ship-to-ship basis from locations off the coast of Oman, including near Sohar in the Gulf of Oman. This move signals that the kingdom may be ramping up the practice of shuttling barrels through the Strait of Hormuz—often with transponders switched off—mirroring tactics already used […]
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As the Iran-U.S. conflict grinds toward the six-month mark in mid-August 2026, Tehran continues to assert control over the Strait of Hormuz—the critical chokepoint through which roughly one-fifth of global oil and LNG once flowed—while the United States maintains a naval blockade on Iranian ports and escalates economic pressure. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has signaled […]
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Saudi Aramco has put a stark number on the energy fallout from the ongoing US-Iran conflict: more than 2.6 billion barrels of oil supply lost since fighting erupted in February 2026. That figure, first highlighted by Aramco CEO Amin Nasser in early August and amplified in a recent Reuters report widely shared on X by […]
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“14 to 15 million barrels a day are leaving the Arabian Gulf region versus the 20 million barrels a day pre-conflict.” – Secretary Chris Wright In an exclusive interview on Fox News’ Special Report with Bret Baier on August 13, 2026, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright provided a clearer picture of oil flows amid ongoing […]
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Iraq’s state oil marketer SOMO has confirmed that Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) is among the buyers of its crude, with cargoes exiting via the Strait of Hormuz amid ongoing regional conflict and severe disruptions to normal shipping. Ali Nizar, director-general of SOMO, stated in a text message that “Adnoc is one of the […]
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