A Ukrainian drone strike on Friday forced Russia’s Novoshakhtinsk refinery in the Rostov region offline, according to regional governor Yury Slyusar. The plant, which processes about 110,000 barrels per day (roughly 5–5.6 million tons per year), is not one of Russia’s giants. It is, however, a clean illustration of why diesel—the workhorse fuel for trucking, […]
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That is the argument Javier Blas is making in his September 23 Bloomberg Opinion column, China Isn’t Buying More Oil, It’s Buying From Different Markets (also framed as “Don’t Believe the Hype About China’s Oil Buying”). The global market treated China’s pre-war appetite as a floor. In 2026 it became a valve. The Blas thesis: […]
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Oil and liquefied natural gas moving through the Strait of Hormuz over the past two weeks reached a six-month high, U.S. Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper said Saturday, crediting mine clearance, naval escorts, and coordination with Gulf producers, insurers, and shipowners. The same briefing drew a sharp contrast: Gulf partners have moved more than […]
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Oil prices jumped more than 3% in early Asian trading Monday as weekend attacks by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis and strikes in the Strait of Hormuz compounded an already fragile supply picture. By mid-session, Brent was trading near $107–$109 a barrel and WTI around $102–$104, levels last seen in the spring. The immediate catalyst was a […]
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The Middle East energy map tightened sharply over the past week even as China resumed heavier crude buying. Houthi forces seized key Red Sea positions including Mocha and Perim Island, tightening control over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and targeting Saudi-linked vessels. Drones originating from Iraq struck Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline, prompting a precautionary shutdown of […]
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The Federal Reserve can raise rates. The Treasury can issue bills. Neither institution can weld a crude distillation unit back together after a drone strike, add inches to a California products pipeline, or refill Gatun Lake. That is the story of September 2026: crude is still findable; diesel is not. The constraint has moved downstream, […]
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What does this mean for the U.S. Diesel and Oil Markets? That is no longer a theoretical risk. With the Strait of Hormuz still effectively closed to most traffic by the U.S.-Iran war and Houthi forces tightening their grip on Bab el-Mandeb, the kingdom’s last high-volume workaround—the East-West pipeline to Yanbu—is under fire. The combination […]
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Brent settled above $101 on Wednesday, September 9, and WTI followed through the $100 level on Thursday morning in a sharp rally. Physical benchmarks had already been there. Dated Brent has held above $100 since September 3. Murban, DME Oman, the OPEC basket, and the Indian basket were already trading over that threshold. Futures are […]
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The war that began on February 28, 2026, with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, and Iran’s subsequent campaign against tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, has forced the largest rewrite of global oil trade routes in decades. Pre-war, roughly 20 million barrels per day of crude and products moved through Hormuz. Flows have […]
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November-loading ESPO from Kozmino is trading at more than $7 per barrel over Brent, with some offers to independent refiners reaching $10, according to traders cited by Bloomberg and OilPrice.com. That is a sharp reversal from the deep discounts China extracted for years. ESPO loads on Russia’s Pacific coast and reaches Chinese ports in less […]
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