Tag: Shadow Fleet

Chinese refiners are paying record premiums for Russian ESPO crude as cheap sanctioned barrels from Iran dry up and Venezuelan oil moves onto the open market.

Clark Savage268

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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US Senate Passes Russia Sanctions Bill Championed by Graham: Is This Even Worth the Paper It Is Written On?

Clark Savage256

On August 7, 2026, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 by a vote of 86-11. The bipartisan measure, renamed in honor of the late South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham—who championed it until his death last month—now heads to the House. The legislation authorizes the president […]

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All of Russia’s Major Refineries Now Within Reach: Ukraine’s Drone Campaign Triggers Deepening Energy Crisis

Clark Savage1003

A pivotal shift occurred overnight on July 14–15, 2026. Ukraine struck the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat refinery in Bashkortostan — previously Russia’s last major untouched gasoline production facility — along with the Afipsky refinery in Krasnodar Krai. Drones traveled over 1,500 km to hit primary processing units at Salavat, igniting fires and knocking out its full […]

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Oil and LNG Market Seaborne Buffer Runs Low and Iran War Drags On – The world is still pumping oil, just not as much as we need.

Clark Savage280

The Iran war, now stretching into its third week with the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed since early March 2026, has delivered the largest oil supply disruption in history. Gulf producers have slashed output by at least 10 million barrels per day (mb/d), but the global shortfall is “only” 8–10 mb/d thanks to pre-positioned floating […]

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FT Uncovers $90 Billion Russian Oil Smuggling Operation: The Dark Fleet\’s Shadow Over Global Energy

Clark Savage329

In a stunning revelation that underscores the resilience of Russia\’s energy sector amid Western sanctions, the Financial Times has exposed a sprawling smuggling network responsible for moving at least $90 billion worth of Russian crude oil. Dubbed the \”Dark Fleet,\” this shadowy armada of aging tankers and opaque trading entities has been operating for years, […]

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A Venezuelan-Like Oil Blockade Against Iran Could Enable The US To Divide-And-Rule RIC

Clark Savage238

ENB Pub Note: This is another interesting article from Andrew Korybko\’s Substack newsletter. The cascading consequences of such a blockade, which might not ultimately be imposed due it entailing a high risk of war with Iran, could simultaneously weaken Russia, India, and China. The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump 2.0 is considering imposing a Venezuelan-like oil […]

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