Bab el-Mandeb Strait Archives

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

September 13, 2026 Clark Savage2

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 […]

Chevron’s CEO Says The Oil Buffers Are Gone

September 12, 2026September 12, 2026 Clark Savage33

Chevron Chairman and CEO Mike Wirth delivered a blunt message in Austin on Friday: the shock absorbers that kept oil from exploding earlier in the Iran war are finished. Strategic stockpile releases and the U.S. decision to loosen rules on sanctioned crude sitting in floating storage have been “played out.” From here, he said, it […]

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

September 11, 2026 Clark Savage22

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 […]

Saudi Arabia East-West Oil Pipeline Pump Station May Be Hit by Houthis

September 11, 2026 Clark Savage23

Energy News Beat | September 11, 2026 Open-source satellite imagery and fire-detection data circulating Friday morning have raised the possibility that Yemen’s Houthis struck a pumping station on Saudi Arabia’s East-West crude pipeline, the kingdom’s main overland route around the Strait of Hormuz. The claim is serious. It is also, as of this writing, unconfirmed […]

Jeff Currie Sees ‘Extremely High’ Chance of $5 Gas by Midterms

September 11, 2026September 11, 2026 Clark Savage53

Veteran commodities strategist Jeff Currie says the odds that the U.S. average gasoline price hits $5 a gallon before the November midterms are “extremely high.” The former Goldman Sachs commodities chief, now founder and CEO of Real Macro and co-founder of 1947 Oil and Gas, told Bloomberg the energy shock has entered a dangerous new […]

OPEC’s Output Has Slumped to Lowest Since 1990

September 10, 2026 Clark Savage46

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, […]

Saudi Arabia Attacked Again, and is Gearing Up for Retaliation. What Does This Mean for Oil

August 10, 2026 Clark Savage117

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis claimed a drone strike on Saudi Aramco’s Jazan (also spelled Jizan) refinery on Sunday, August 9, 2026, just two days after the kingdom signed a major trilateral defense pact. Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry reported a fire at a facility within the complex that was extinguished with no injuries. This marks the latest […]

Global Energy Market In Flux with Russia, Strait of Hormuz, Bab el-Mandab Strait and drought in the EU all in play

August 5, 2026 Clark Savage157

The global energy landscape remains highly volatile in early August 2026, shaped by overlapping geopolitical, security, and climate pressures. Disruptions centered on Russia’s refined product exports, ongoing uncertainty over the Strait of Hormuz, escalating risks in the Bab el-Mandab Strait, and a severe drought across Europe are tightening supplies of crude oil, petroleum products, LNG, […]

The Energy Balance Globally is Shaken, and Green Energy is Tripling Down, While Oil and Gas Are Unbalanced

July 28, 2026July 28, 2026 Clark Savage58

ENB Pub Note: This article was first published on the Energy News Beat Substack. Head over there to comment. Tough times ahead, and countries are picking sides. The world’s energy system is under simultaneous assault from geopolitics and policy ideology. Critical oil and gas flows through maritime and pipeline chokepoints are disrupted or rerouted at […]

OPEC+ Plans Quota-Hikes Pause after September – But Does It Matter?

July 28, 2026 Clark Savage151

OPEC+ is preparing to hit pause on its gradual oil production quota increases after a final bump in September 2026. According to delegates, the group plans to ratify a 188,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) hike for September at a virtual meeting on August 2, completing the current tier of increases, with no further hikes planned for the […]

Tag: Bab el-Mandeb Strait

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

Chevron’s CEO Says The Oil Buffers Are Gone

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

Saudi Arabia East-West Oil Pipeline Pump Station May Be Hit by Houthis

Jeff Currie Sees ‘Extremely High’ Chance of $5 Gas by Midterms

OPEC’s Output Has Slumped to Lowest Since 1990

Saudi Arabia Attacked Again, and is Gearing Up for Retaliation. What Does This Mean for Oil

Global Energy Market In Flux with Russia, Strait of Hormuz, Bab el-Mandab Strait and drought in the EU all in play

The Energy Balance Globally is Shaken, and Green Energy is Tripling Down, While Oil and Gas Are Unbalanced

OPEC+ Plans Quota-Hikes Pause after September – But Does It Matter?

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