Crude Oil News

The United States military has overseen scores of secretive ship-to-ship oil transfers to keep Gulf energy exports flowing, using aerial and water drones as well as helicopters in an operation to guide convoys to awaiting tankers.The operation on the edge of the Strait of Hormuz employs a shuttling technique long used by Iran to skirt sanctions.Two specific locations where the oil transfers take place were identified by 11 people familiar with the operation – one off the coast of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates and the other off Oman’s port of Sohar.It started in early May…

U.S. energy shares fell on Monday as crude prices dropped after Washington and Tehran agreed terms to end their months-long conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil transit chokepoint.The U.S. and Iran will sign a memorandum of understanding in Switzerland on Friday, said the prime minister of Pakistan, which helped mediate talks between the two sides.U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday the Strait of Hormuz, which carries roughly a fifth of global oil consumption, would be open "toll free" and that a U.S.

Saudi Arabia's crude oil sales to China are expected to stay at record lows in July as elevated prices in the wake of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran continue to weigh on demand from the world's largest crude importer, sources familiar with the matter said.The allocations, closely watched by market participants as a gauge of Chinese demand, indicate that refiners remain reluctant to import high-priced barrels following run cuts and as they draw on domestic inventories.Saudi crude shipments also remain somewhat constrained by Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz…

Venezuela's oil exports rose slightly to 1.25 million barrels per day in May, its third consecutive month of increase, fueled by more cargoes to the U.S., India and Europe, shipping data showed on Monday.Under the U.S.-supported government of interim President Delcy Rodriguez, Venezuelan crude production and exports have bounced this year as Washington eased sanctions and foreign companies expanded oil and gas projects in the OPEC nation.The oil ministry has forecast a crude output of 1.37 million bpd by year-end…

A cargo of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve headed to California this month for the first time ever, ship tracking service Kpler said.The unusual movement highlights the redrawing of trade flows and shipping routes as the Iran war has cut off supplies of Middle Eastern crude. California, once a top oil-producing state in the U.S., has in recent years become more dependent on crude imports, including about 230,000 barrels per day last year from the Middle East. Availability of alternative crude oil is also limited due to competing demand from Asia.About 460…

Oil prices fell nearly 7% on Monday as optimism grew that the United States and Iran were moving closer to a peace deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, even though Washington and Tehran played down hopes for an imminent breakthrough.Brent crude futures LCOc1 were down $7.24, or almost 7%, at $96.30 a barrel at 2:29 p.m. ET (1843 GMT) and U.S. West Texas Intermediate CLc1 futures were down $6.30, or 6.5%, at $90.88.Trading volumes were light due to the U.S. Memorial Day…

Two Chinese supertankers carrying 4 million barrels of Middle East crude oil exited the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday after waiting in the Gulf for more than two months, shipping data on LSEG and Kpler showed.The ships are among a handful of supertankers carrying Iraqi crude exiting the Gulf this month via a transit route that Iran has ordered ships to use.Chinese-flagged very large crude carrier (VLCC) Yuan Gui Yang loaded 2 million barrels of Iraqi Basrah crude on February 27, a day before the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran started, the data showed.The vessel, chartered by Unipec, the trading arm

Supertanker Agios Fanourios I is heading for Vietnam to discharge its Iraqi crude oil cargo after it was held by the U.S. Navy for five days in the Gulf of Oman, shipping data on LSEG showed.The Maltese-flagged very large crude carrier (VLCC) sailed out of the Strait of Hormuz on May 10 and was sailing in the Gulf of Oman before making a U-turn on May 11. It resumed its journey toward Vietnam on May 16 and is expected to arrive at the Nghi Son refinery on May 30, LSEG data showed.The U.S.

Oil prices rose Friday as market concerns persisted over ship attacks and seizures despite Iran saying about 30 vessels had passed through the Strait of Hormuz, while the U.S. and Chinese presidents were set for a second day of talks in Beijing.Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 rose 60 cents, or 0.57%, to $106.32 a barrel by 0100 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures CLc1 were up 54 cents, or 0.53%, to $101.71.A ship was reported seized by Iranian personnel off the United Arab Emirates and headed for Iranian waters on Thursday, while the White House said U.S.

Dealmaking in the U.S. upstream oil and gas sector jumped to $38 billion in the first quarter of this year, marking the highest quarterly total in two years, analytics firm Enverus said on Wednesday.Shale producer Devon and smaller rival Coterra closed on their merger last week after announcing plans to combine in February.

Two more tankers laden with crude exited the Strait of Hormuz last week with trackers switched off to avoid Iranian attacks, Kpler shipping data showed, underscoring a rising trend to sustain Middle East oil exports.The very large crude carrier (VLCC) Basrah Energy loaded 2 million barrels of Upper Zakum crude from Abu Dhabi National Oil Co's (ADNOC's) Zirku terminal on May 1 and exited the Strait of Hormuz on May 6, the data showed on Monday.The Panama-flagged vessel offloaded its cargo at the Fujairah Oil Tanker Terminals on May 8…

Oil transportation and storage company Sentinel Midstream said on Tuesday it would immediately begin construction of its deepwater oil export project off the Texas coast, marking the first development of a large-scale export project in the United States in years.Sentinel expects to begin commercial operations of the Texas GulfLink system by the fourth quarter of 2028, said Bruce Heine, the company's senior VP for public affairs, adding the company will begin excavation activities…

"Since the beginning of the Iran war, global seaborne crude oil shipments have fallen 16% compared to the first nine weeks of 2026, according to Signal Ocean data. This represents a reduction of 7.6 million barrels per day (mbdp) to 38.4 mbpd. Coincidentally, shipments during the past six weeks have likewise been 16% lower than during the same period last year,” says Niels Rasmussen, Chief Shipping Analyst at BIMCO.Before the Iran war, the U.S. Energy Information Administration had estimated global 2026 oil production to be 79.9 mbpd.

U.S. President Donald Trump's move allowing foreign-flagged cargo ships to move fuel and other goods between domestic ports has so far had little impact on American oil supply, according to trade data and analysts who noted that U.S. refiners and shippers are earning more profits sending fuel overseas.Last month, Trump waived Jones Act limitations for 60 days starting March 17, hoping the move would help tame the surge in fuel prices caused by the Iran war by increasing shipments from the U.S.

Russia's Baltic Ust-Luga port, one of its largest petroleum export hubs, was damaged again on Sunday by a Ukrainian drone attack which sparked a blaze later brought under control, Russian officials said.It followed several Ukrainian drone strikes last week on Russia’s western energy corridor when facilities at the ports of Ust-Luga and Primorsk came under fire, igniting storage tanks and forcing a suspension of oil and oil product loadings.The regional governor of Leningrad said…

Crude oil exports from Saudi Arabia's Red Sea Yanbu port rose to nearly 4 million barrels per day last week, a sharp increase from export levels before the Iran war broke out, shipping data shows.The jump shows that Saudi Aramco, the world's biggest oil exporter, is making progress on a plan to send crude along its East-West pipeline to Yanbu to keep supplies flowing and offset the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the conflict.Aramco can pump up to 7 million bpd to Yanbu through the pipeline…

Two Indian-flagged liquefied petroleum gas tankers are preparing to sail through the Strait of Hormuz in coming days after a pause in voyages, with no crude oil tankers having transited the waterway in the past 24 hours, according to shipping data and sources.Hundreds of vessels have dropped anchor since Tehran threatened to attack ships attempting to leave the Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas flow.The two tankers were currently anchored in Gulf waters…

Asian refiners are increasingly sending medium-sized crude cargoes from the U.S. Gulf Coast to Asia through the Panama Canal as the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran disrupts trade flows, raises shipping costs and forces Asian refiners to hunt for alternative supplies.The use of medium-sized tankers that typically cost more per barrel to transport crude, coupled with Asian companies' willingness to pay additional fees to move oil through the Panama Canal, underscores their urgent need…

U.S. officials responding to economic uncertainty over high oil prices predicted on Sunday that the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran would end within weeks and that a drop in energy costs would follow, despite Iran's assertion that it remains "stable and strong" and ready to defend itself.U.S. President Donald Trump threatened more strikes on Iran's main oil export hub Kharg Island over the weekend and said he was not ready to reach a deal to end the war which has shut off the vital Strait of Hormuz and shaken up global energy markets.Trump has said Iran wants to negotiate…

The U.S. Navy has refused near-daily requests from the shipping industry for military escorts through the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the war on Iran, saying the risk of attacks is too high for now, according to sources familiar with the matter.The Navy's assessments spell continued disruption to Middle East oil exports and reflect a divergence from President Donald Trump’s statements that the U.S. is prepared to provide naval escorts whenever needed to restart regular…

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to escalate the war with Iran if it blocked oil shipments from the Middle East, even as he predicted a quick end to the conflict.Trump's warning came at the end of a day that saw global financial markets seesawing on concerns that Iran's security establishment was rallying behind new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and was not prepared to back down any time soon.Trump said the United States had inflicted serious damage on Iran's air force and navy and predicted the conflict would end well before the initial four-week time frame he had laid out…

U.S. President Donald Trump is considering easing oil sanctions on Russia and releasing emergency crude stockpiles as part of a package of options aimed at curbing spiking global oil prices amid the Iran conflict, according to multiple sources.The deliberations reflect White House worries that the surge in oil prices following more than a week of U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran will hurt U.S. businesses and consumers ahead of the November midterm elections, when Trump's fellow…

The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has disrupted oil and natural gas exports from the Middle East and forced production stoppages from Qatar to Iraq, with Kuwait announcing cuts over the weekend.Analysts predict that the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia will also have to cut output soon as they run out of oil storage.Below are the main energy disruptions so far:PRODUCTION SHUTDOWNSIraqi output collapses: the country's oil production from its main southern oilfields has fallen by 70% to just 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd) from 4.3 million barrels per day (bpd) before the war…