Iraq Archives - Energy News Beat

Oil Prices Slide as US Weighs Easing Sanctions on Shadow Fleet: Implications for Tanker Rates, Delivered Crude Costs, and Diesel Crack Spreads

October 15, 2026 Clark Savage25

Oil prices fell about 2% on October 15, 2026, after reports that the Trump administration is considering easing sanctions on vessels in the so-called “shadow fleet.” Brent crude futures dropped about $2.28 (2.2%) to around $103.78 a barrel, while WTI fell about $1.34 (1.4%) to roughly $93.75, reversing prior gains. The move reflected hopes that […]

How has OPEC’s production pre-war and current output under stress?

October 15, 2026 Clark Savage18

The Iran war that began around February 28, 2026, with U.S.-Israeli strikes and subsequent Iranian responses, has reshaped OPEC+ crude production and, more sharply, refined product exports. Pre-war levels (roughly February 2026) represented a relatively stable baseline after earlier OPEC+ quota management. Current output remains under significant stress from Strait of Hormuz disruptions, infrastructure attacks, […]

Hormuz Traffic Sinks and Saudi Oil Comes Under Fire: How Many Escape Routes Are Left?

October 9, 2026 Clark Savage74

Crude moving through the Strait of Hormuz fell 27% in a week, to at least 10.1 million barrels a day, as tanker attacks picked up and Yemen’s Houthis warned everyone who works at a Saudi oil site. Here is what has actually been hit, what is only claimed, and how much oil can still get […]

Why Are Global Diesel Prices So High? Exhibit A: Ukraine Drone Hits Novoshakhtinsk Refinery

September 25, 2026September 25, 2026 Clark Savage120

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, […]

Hormuz Oil Shipments Hit Six-Month High, States US Commander

September 19, 2026 Clark Savage169

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 […]

Middle East Escalation Meets China’s Return: Dual Chokepoints, Record Tanker Rates, and an Upward Spiral in Crude and Products

September 13, 2026 Clark Savage101

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 […]

Diesel and Refining Capacity Set to be the Inflationary Impact The Fed Can’t Control

September 12, 2026 Clark Savage141

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, […]

What does this mean for the U.S. Diesel and Oil Markets?

September 11, 2026 Clark Savage139

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 threatens crude exports and the diesel, gasoline, and jet fuel that […]

OPEC’s Output Has Slumped to Lowest Since 1990

September 10, 2026 Clark Savage196

Saudi Arabia has told OPEC that its crude production collapsed again in August 2026, falling 1.9 million barrels per day to 6.238 million b/d—the lowest level the kingdom has reported since 1990, at the outset of the Gulf War. Riyadh attributed the drop to renewed U.S.–Iran hostilities that squeezed its export routes. That official communication, […]

Iran War Causes a Shift in Oil and Energy Markets

September 6, 2026 Clark Savage135

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 […]

Tag: Iraq

Oil Prices Slide as US Weighs Easing Sanctions on Shadow Fleet: Implications for Tanker Rates, Delivered Crude Costs, and Diesel Crack Spreads

How has OPEC’s production pre-war and current output under stress?

Hormuz Traffic Sinks and Saudi Oil Comes Under Fire: How Many Escape Routes Are Left?

Why Are Global Diesel Prices So High? Exhibit A: Ukraine Drone Hits Novoshakhtinsk Refinery

Hormuz Oil Shipments Hit Six-Month High, States US Commander

Middle East Escalation Meets China’s Return: Dual Chokepoints, Record Tanker Rates, and an Upward Spiral in Crude and Products

Diesel and Refining Capacity Set to be the Inflationary Impact The Fed Can’t Control

What does this mean for the U.S. Diesel and Oil Markets?

OPEC’s Output Has Slumped to Lowest Since 1990

Iran War Causes a Shift in Oil and Energy Markets

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