Oil 13 (Oct 23 - Dec 27)

[winston]

Saudi Aramco Plans to Bypass Strait of Hormuz
 
Saudi Arabia is on the verge of ramping up an alternate pipeline to export its oil, rather than through the Strait of Hormuz, a move that could ease—though not eliminate—the bottleneck that has driven crude prices higher.
 
A pipeline to move oil from the kingdom’s oil fields to the Red Sea in the west is days away from hitting full capacity.

Aramco’s East-West pipeline is no panacea. It can only export about five million barrels a day of crude oil, or about 70% of the seven million barrels Aramco exports every day.

Currently, tanker ships are unwilling to travel through the Strait of Hormuz, which takes upward of 17 million barrels of oil a day from the Middle East to Asia and Europe—including the vast majority of Saudi production in normal times.

The Saudi East-West pipeline and a few others in the region can reroute some of that product.

Source: Barron's

[winston]

Trump touts oil supply moves, vowing to ‘finish the job’ in Iran

By Josh Wingrove

The IEA agreed to discharge 400 million barrels from emergency oil reserves, more than double the 182 million barrels member countries released after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Global crude consumption is slightly more than 100 million barrels a day and Gulf producers have had to cut roughly 6% of that so far.

The US national average cost for a gallon of gasoline rose to US$3.58 on Wednesday, its highest since May 2024.

On Wednesday, the US International Development Finance Corp. announced Chubb Ltd. is partnering with the agency on a US$20 billion reinsurance backstop aimed at reviving shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Dubai International Airport briefly halted operations after drones struck the facility, resulting in four injuries at the world’s busiest international hub.

Source: Bloomberg

https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/795908

[winston]

Oil unlikely to hit US$200 a barrel, US energy chief says

The war has forced Middle East Gulf countries to cut total oil production by at least 10 million barrels per day, about 10percent of world demand.

Wright also told CNBC on Thursday that the US Navy cannot escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz now but it was “quite likely” that could happen by the end of the month.

Source: The Standard

https://www.thestandard.com.hk/finance/article/326536/

[behappyalways]

Moment Iranian drone wipes out tanker in the Gulf as oil prices soar
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SBcCQBZBogc


Iranian missiles strike critical fuel storage facility in Bahrain
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XwS2wtVf1mg

[winston]

US shipping waiver and release of stockpiles will not ease pain at the pumps, analysts say

The US government is considering waiving the Jones Act that limits shipments between US ports to US vessels only.

The country ​agreed to contribute 172 million barrels to the International Energy Agency's proposal for 400 million barrels of oil.

The IEA's proposed release, for which the time frame has not yet been announced, would total ​6.6 million barrels per day if completed over 60 days.

US national average retail gasoline prices hit US$3.60 a gallon on Thursday for the first time ‌since ⁠May 2024, while diesel prices hit US$4.89 a gallon, the highest since December 2022,

Source: The Standard

https://www.thestandard.com.hk/finance/article/326612/

[winston]

Oil drops after US issues license for countries to buy Russian oil stranded at sea for 30 days

Scott Bessent ⁠told Sky News in an interview that the U.S. Navy, perhaps with an international coalition, would escort vessels through the Strait of Hormuz [b]when it is militarily possible.

Saudi Arabia is reportedly paying a premium to reroute tankers ⁠to the ​Red Sea, using its East-West pipeline to transport oil to ​global markets.

Meanwhile, Iran is allowing one or two tankers a day through, mainly to China, keeping China on its side and ​cash flowing.

Source: The Standard

https://www.thestandard.com.hk/finance/article/326576/

[winston]

Why a strike on Iran’s Kharg Island would shake oil markets

Kharg Island is the loading point for almost all of the country’s crude shipments.

Israel widened the scope of the bombing campaign to include energy infrastructure when it attacked fuel storage facilities in Tehran on the night of Mar 7.

Around nine out of every ten barrels of Iranian crude oil is exported through Kharg Island, most of it bound for China. The terminal has been handling around 1.5 million barrels per day.

The site is dotted with storage tanks that can hold as much as 30 million barrels – about a third of the capacity of the giant US storage hub of Cushing, Oklahoma.

It has space to berth eight tankers and capacity to load more via ship-to-ship transfers.

More than six million barrels of crude can be loaded at Kharg Island in a day, stretching to as much as 10 million barrels if necessary.

Airstrikes on Kharg Island could disrupt most of Iran’s oil exports for weeks or months and worsen what is already a serious economic crisis in the country. It could also spur Iran to escalate its attacks on energy facilities across the region.

Source: Bloomberg

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/compan ... il-markets

[winston]

Oil crisis deepens as traders fret on longer Strait of Hormuz blockage

By Alex Longley

Crude prices that have surged 40% since the Iran war began.

US officials have also publicly considered intervening directly in futures markets, though some downplayed the prospect of such a move.

The Saudi Aramco's pipeline across the country to its Red Sea coast will soon fill up to its full capacity, which will allow about 5 million barrels a day of exports.

Exports are now up to about 2.9 million barrels day.

Source: Bloomberg

https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/796226

[winston]

<Commodity>G Sachs: Mideast War's Impact on Jet Fuel/ Diesel Greater than on Crude

The Middle East war sent the largest shock to the oil market in history, with a greater impact on products like jet fuel and diesel than on crude oil, Goldman Sachs said.

So far, the price hikes of many refined oil products have been way more than those of crude oil.

The grave disruption in the supply of medium-heavy crude could pinch the production of diesel, jet fuel, and fuel oil.

No product or region can be an exception, Goldman Sachs opined.

The ongoing war in Iran is undermining the ability of Persian Gulf oil-producing countries to export refined oil products, leading to refinery shutdowns and drastically reducing the supply of crude best suited for producing fuels like diesel.

Nearly 60% of crude exports from the Persian Gulf are medium-heavy crude typically used for producing jet fuel, diesel, and fuel oil, and there are not many alternative producers outside the Middle East in the market.

Source: AASTOCKS Financial News

http://www.aastocks.com/en/stocks/news/ ... -news/AAFN

[behappyalways]

Iran "Starts New Phase Of Oil War" After Energy Production Hit
https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/iran-s ... uction-hit