MacroEnergySaudi Arabia's Hormuz Escape Hatch Just Shut Itself — The East-West Pipeline Is Now Offline Too
Saudi Arabia’s Hormuz Escape Hatch Just Shut Itself — The East-West Pipeline Is Now Offline Too
Saudi Arabia’s only crude export route that never touched Hormuz just went dark. Drones launched from Iraq hit pump stations on the 7-million-b/d East-West pipeline Thursday, forcing a precautionary shutdown of the line that carries Saudi crude from Abqaiq to Yanbu on the Red Sea, which is Saudi Arabia’s only export route that does not pass through the Strait of Hormuz. With Hormuz choked and Houthis holding Bab el-Mandeb, the kingdom now has zero working bypass — every barrel is exposed.
#SaudiArabia #Pipeline #StraitOfHormuz #RedSea #CrudeSupply
Six Gulf Foreign Ministers Are Flying to Oman Monday — the Meeting Is Already Priced Into $100 Oil
This is an escalation of the Iran-Oman shipping talks, not a repeat: Oman has now pulled in all six GCC foreign ministers plus Iraq for a Monday sit-down with Tehran in Salalah, and crude already sold off on the news. Gulf foreign ministers plan to meet their Iranian counterpart in a push by Oman and Iran to secure buy-in for a temporary deal to manage shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Buy-in isn’t a ceasefire — if Monday underdelivers, the $15 gap that just opened between hope and reality snaps shut fast.
#StraitOfHormuz #Oman #GCC #OilPrices #OilGeopolitics
The IEA Just Called a 2.5 Million-Barrel Demand Collapse — And Refining Margins Hit a Record Anyway
Falling demand was supposed to be the pressure release valve — instead it’s arriving alongside record refiner profits, which means this squeeze isn’t a demand story at all. The IEA is forecasting a 2.5 million-barrel-a-day contraction in 2026, the largest annual decline since the Covid-19 pandemic, as higher prices and tighter supplies weigh on consumption, while OPEC cut its 2026 demand-growth forecast for a fifth consecutive time. Meanwhile the rise in refined products has pushed diesel above $200/bbl in the US, 94% above pre-war levels, pushing refinery margins to record levels in the Atlantic Basin. Demand destruction won’t fix a capacity problem.