Independent “teapot” refiners in China — the smaller, privately owned facilities concentrated in Shandong province that account for roughly a quarter of the country’s refining capacity — are slashing production rates as the ongoing paralysis in the Strait of Hormuz drives crude prices higher and crushes refining margins. According to industry sources cited by Reuters […]
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U.S. energy exports have surged to unprecedented levels in 2026, driven by global supply disruptions from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and the effective closure of key Persian Gulf shipping routes. According to The Wall Street Journal, crude oil and petroleum product exports reached a record of nearly 12.9 million barrels per day […]
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In the high-stakes world of global energy markets, two prices for oil exist side by side — but they are telling wildly different stories right now. The “paper” price, reflected in Brent and WTI futures contracts traded on exchanges, sits around $99 per barrel as of April 22, 2026. Meanwhile, the physical price for delivered […]
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