Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement claimed on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, that its forces targeted Saudi Aramco’s Jazan (also spelled Jizan) oil refinery on the Red Sea coast in southwest Saudi Arabia with “a number of drones.” A Houthi military source told the group’s Saba news agency the strike was “precise” and conducted in response to […]
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Saudi Arabia is exporting and producing less oil amid ongoing regional conflicts and shipping disruptions, yet its oil revenues have risen sharply thanks to elevated crude prices. This paradox highlights the resilience of the Kingdom’s energy sector even as capacity constraints, security threats, and infrastructure damage create significant hurdles. In the second quarter of 2026, […]
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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 […]
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Tanker traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern entrance to the Red Sea has slumped to a multi-month low, underscoring how Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi threats and recent attacks continue to disrupt one of the world’s most critical oil shipping lanes. According to vessel-tracking data, only 11 commodity-carrying vessels—including just seven oil tankers (four […]
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Saudi Arabia’s carefully constructed workaround for oil exports is hitting severe constraints on two fronts at once: kinetic threats from Yemen’s Houthis and commercial barriers from the London marine insurance market centered on Lloyd’s. The result is a growing bottleneck at the Red Sea that threatens a key remaining outlet for Saudi crude and products, […]
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The 2026 Iran war has triggered what the International Energy Agency (IEA) calls the “largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market.” Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz—through which roughly 20% of the world’s oil and significant LNG volumes flow—has upended global energy supplies. Over 50 countries have implemented emergency […]
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As the Iran conflict escalates with U.S. and Israeli strikes targeting Iranian energy infrastructure, the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen have issued a stark warning: they are prepared to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, effectively blocking oil exports through the Red Sea. Houthi Deputy Foreign Minister Hussein al-Ezzi stated, “If Sana’a decides to close the Bab […]
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The Iran war, now stretching into its third week with the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed since early March 2026, has delivered the largest oil supply disruption in history. Gulf producers have slashed output by at least 10 million barrels per day (mb/d), but the global shortfall is “only” 8–10 mb/d thanks to pre-positioned floating […]
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In a strategic move amid escalating geopolitical tensions, Saudi Arabia is ramping up efforts to bypass the disrupted Strait of Hormuz by utilizing its East-West Pipeline, also known as Petroline. This backup infrastructure allows the kingdom to redirect crude oil from its eastern fields to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, avoiding the chokepoint that\’s […]
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Energy News Beat Stand Up: China, California Energy, Hormuz Crisis & Liz Truss A wild day on the Energy News Beat Stand Up. We even play a short from Former Prime Minister Lizz Truss as I just finished recording her podcasts with Rey Trevinio on a joint podcast with the Crude Truth and Energy News […]
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