The trickle of tankers exiting the Strait of Hormuz has gathered pace in recent weeks, as traders adopt stealth measures to make the crossing. While this is freeing some of the vast oil inventories trapped in the Gulf, it does not signal a slow return to normalcy. Instead, it previews the opaque, fragmented energy market the Iran war is set to leave in its wake. More than four months into the conflict, the U.S. and Iran are still struggling to hammer out an agreement to formally end the war [Read more]

Oil prices fell on Thursday as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Lebanon boosted hopes for a broader agreement to end the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran that could lead to a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Brent futures were down 87 cents, or 0.89%, at $96.92 a barrel by 0458 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 78 cents, or 0.81%, to $95.24, paring gains from earlier in the week. Both Brent and WTI rose about 2% on Wednesday after renewed Middle East hostilities including [Read more]

The discount on Western Canada Select crude oil to North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures widened on Wednesday. WCS for July delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $12.40 a barrel below the U.S. benchmark WTI, according to brokerage CalRock, compared with $12.25 a barrel on Tuesday. * Since the start of the U.S. war on Iran, the WCS differential has been driven by the WTI market's extreme backwardation, a term for when immediate deliveries trade at a premium over [Read more]

Middle East oil refineries could recover to more normal production levels in 40-60 days from the end of the current oil supply crisis linked to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Vitol Bahrain's regional head of research Bader Nooruddin said on Wednesday. That timeline would take production up to around 90-95% of refinery production, he said at the S&P Global Energy Middle East Petroleum and Gas Conference. Middle East Gulf refineries, including Oman which sits to the south [Read more]

U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran has agreed not to have a nuclear weapon and that he would probably meet with Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khameneiat some point if things "work out". "They've already agreed they're not going to have a nuclear weapon," Trump told "Pod Force One" in an interview broadcast on Wednesday, while speaking about Iran. Asked about Khamenei's involvement in talks with the U.S. on ending hostilities, Trump said, "He's involved, absolutely.... I think they have a lot [Read more]

There will be a spike in oil demand to replenish storage levels after the current global oil supply crisis in overcome, ADNOC senior vice president of business transformation Fatema Bin Saleem Al Teneiji said on Tuesday. Oil demand will then start to pick up as oil prices normalise, she said at the S&P Global Energy Middle East Petroleum and Gas Conference in London. (Reporting by Robert Harvey in London, Editing by Louise Heavens) [Read more]

Kuwait could restore nearly 70% of its oil production within six to eight weeks after the Strait of Hormuz reopens, Kuwait Petroleum Company's managing director for international marketing, Shaikh Khaled Ahmad Al-Sabah, said on Wednesday. The remaining 30% would take about another month, he told the S&P Global Energy Middle East Petroleum and Gas Conference. Kuwait's timeline for its production recovery is shorter than some forecasts for a full reopening of transits through the Strait [Read more]

The current oil supply crisis shows there is underinvestment in oil refining as demand holds resilient, Saudi state-owned Aramco's vice president of market analysis and sustainability, Musaab Al Mulla, said on Tuesday. Around 3 million barrels per day of refining capacity closed between 2020 and 2023, Al Mulla said at the S&P Global Energy Middle East Petroleum and Gas Conference in London. "Now we realise if you have those refineries you may have definitely mitigated the impacts of [Read more]