Oil News

A U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports has shrunk Tehran's oil exports, stranding a growing stockpile of crude on tankers as Iranian storage sites run out of space, shipping data showed and analysts said.With some vessels switching off tracking systems and U.S. forces turning back Iranian tankers, how much crude Iran is delivering to customers, particularly main customer China, is impossible to measure.Just a handful of carriers carrying Iranian crude have left the Gulf of Oman between April 13-25, oil analytics firm Vortexa said.

A Ukrainian drone attack caused a major fire at a Russian oil refinery in the city of Tuapse on Tuesday, officials said, in what President Vladimir Putin described as evidence of increased Ukrainian attacks on civilian targets.It was the third attack on the Black Sea port in less than two weeks.Ukraine's military confirmed it had carried out the strike, the latest in a series designed to disrupt Russia's oil industry and slash revenue that helps Moscow fund the war in Ukraine.Putin…

Reliance Industries has rejected two Iranian oil cargoes as they failed to meet its compliance requirements, the Indian refiner said on Friday, just days before the expiry of a U.S. waiver that has lifted sanctions on Iranian oil exports.Last month, Washington issued 30-day waivers on U.S. sanctions allowing the purchase of Russian and Iranian oil at sea in an attempt to ease prices which soared after U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran.Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday said the U.S.

Total oil product stocks held independently in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp refining and storage hub were down 4% on the week to their lowest since 2014, as the war in the Middle East disrupts imports, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed on Thursday.Total stocks stood at 4.72 million metric tons, dropping on declines in naphtha and middle distillate inventories, the data showed. Jet kerosene stocks were down 7.6%, continuing their downward trend from recent weeks, to 597,000 tons, to a four-year low, Insight Global's Lars van Wageningen said.

Iran can withstand a complete halt in oil exports of up to two months before being forced to curb production, analysts said, after the U.S. began blocking shipping in and out of the country's ports on April 13.The blockade could prevent roughly 2 million barrels per day (bpd) of Iranian crude from reaching its main buyer China.Any Iranian production shutdowns would add to more than 12 million bpd of supply already disrupted by the regional war, tightening markets further and lifting oil prices.With its exports blocked, Iran faces having to divert crude into onshore storage tanks.

The U.S. will not renew a 30-day waiver of sanctions on Iranian oil at sea that expires this week, and quietly let a similar waiver on sanctions on Russian oil expire over the weekend, two administration officials told Reuters on Tuesday, as the U.S. imposes a blockade on shipments from Iranian ports.Tuesday's move signals that "Treasury is going full force on Economic Fury" on Iran, an apparent reference to Operation Epic Fury, the U.S.-led military campaign against the country…

Rosneft is diverting oil supplies to the Tuapse refinery from the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk after the terminal, which handles roughly 14% of Russia's crude exports, was heavily damaged in a drone attack, three sources said on Monday.A Ukrainian drone attack sparked a large fire at the Sheskharis oil terminal in the Novorossiysk port last week, damaging two of its main berths and forcing oil exports from the port to halt, according to the sources, who were familiar with the…

President Donald Trump's administration is likely to extend as soon as Friday a waiver allowing countries to buy some sanctioned Russian oil and petroleum products, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.The U.S.

Russia's seaborne diesel and gasoil exports fell 3% in March from February to around 3.06 million metric tons as repeated drone attacks disrupted fuel loadings at key ports, data from market sources and LSEG showed.Ultra-low-sulphur diesel shipments from the Baltic port of Primorsk, Russia's biggest outlet for diesel exports, fell to 1.713 million tons, down 2.6% from February, the sources said.The Russian Baltic ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga were repeatedly hit by Ukrainian drone attacks last week.On March 22, the two ports suspended oil and fuel loadings following drone attacks.

NAG Marine, a provider of shipboard automation and fluid control solutions for maritime applications, announced the launch of the Tan Delta Oil Quality Sensor as part of its partnership with Tan Delta Systems, a global innovator in advanced oil condition analysis technologies. The addition of the Tan Delta Oil Quality Sensor expands NAG Marine’s fluid automation portfolio with advanced, real-time oil quality sensing capabilities designed to reduce maintenance costs, extend service intervals, and improve operational reliability across maritime and industrial platforms.

Vietnam's domestic crude oil production is expected to decline this decade, according to a government document released this week, increasing the country's reliance on imports as its offshore fields mature and geopolitical tensions threaten global supplies.The new forecasts for dwindling oil output come as Vietnam, a regional industrial hub hosting large manufacturing operations of electronics and garment multinationals, is bracing for oil shortages caused by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and subsequent export bans from energy suppliers.Crude output is projected to fall to 5.8 million-8.0 milli

North American Blue Energy, a company backed by U.S. energy magnate Harry Sargeant III, has moved to export nearly 1 million barrels of Venezuelan crude for delivery into China, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing a document.The cargo may be the first delivery of Venezuelan oil to the Asian country since the US took control of the nation's oil sales earlier this year, the report said.U.S. President Donald Trump has been taking steps to ease sanctions against Venezuela following the arrest of President Nicolas Maduro and urging U.S.

Britain on Tuesday sanctioned Maritime Mutual, the New Zealand-based marine insurer that was the subject of a Reuters special report into how it had helped in the trade of tens of billions of dollars of Iranian and Russian oil."(Maritime Mutual) is or has been involved in obtaining a benefit from or supporting the Government of Russia by carrying on business in a sector of strategic significance to the Government of Russia, namely the Russian energy sector," the British government…

The premium currently built into the crude oil price over tensions between the United States and Iran fluctuates according to the daily headlines, but there is an underlying assumption that everything will turn out fine.Global benchmark Brent futures LCOc1 jumped 4.4% on Wednesday to close at $70.35 a barrel, the highest finish since January 30.The increase was largely driven by news reports that Iran and Russia will conduct navy drills in the Sea of Oman and the northern Indian Ocean on Thursday, just days after Iran's Revolutionary Guards conducted exercises in the Strait of Hormuz.The milit

The Czech Republic is offering small volumes of oil to Slovakia through an eastward flow of the Druzhba pipeline after westward flows from Ukraine were stopped after an attack on the pipeline last month, Czech Economy Minister Karel Havlicek said on Tuesday.The Czechs stopped using Russian supplies via Druzhba last year after expanding an alternative route, and have mentioned reversing the flow of the Czech section of the pipeline to Slovakia as a theoretical possibility.Havlicek told Reuters a "certain small amount" could be delivered to Slovakia right away, but larger amounts would require t

The European Commission sees no short-term risk to the security of oil supplies in Hungary or Slovakia following the disruption of Russian oil flows via Ukraine because both EU countries have ample emergency stocks, a Commission spokesperson said on Tuesday.Slovakia's government also said its domestic fuel supply was not under threat, alleviating fears of an immediate fuel crunch after Kyiv's foreign ministry last week said a Russian attack on a Ukrainian pipeline was responsible…

Hungary and Slovakia have asked Croatia to help them secure Russian oil and Hungarian company MOL initiated the release of strategic crude reserves after disruption to flows via Ukraine that the two countries have blamed on Kyiv.Kyiv's foreign ministry last week said a Russian attack on a Ukrainian pipeline was responsible for the halt in flows to Eastern Europe since January 27.Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha posted a photo on X of firefighters and what he said was Druzhba pipeline infrastructure burning…

The EU has proposed extending its sanctions against Russia to include ports in Georgia and Indonesia that handle Russian oil, the first time it would target ports in third countries, a proposal document showed on Monday. The proposal, reviewed by Reuters, wouldadd Kulevi in Georgia and Karimun in Indonesia to the sanctions list, meaning European companies and individuals would be barred from carrying out transactions with the two ports.The sanctions package, which would be the 20th imposed by the EU over Russia's actions in Ukraine…

"In 2025, India’s oil imports from Russia made up 33% of the country’s total seaborne oil imports and 25% of Russia’s seaborne oil exports. A new trade agreement between the US and India could, according to US President Donald Trump, put an end to that trade,” says Niels Rasmussen, Chief Shipping Analyst at BIMCO.On Monday, President Trump announced that a new trade agreement between the US and India would lead to mutual tariff reductions. US tariffs on Indian goods would fall from 50% to 18% and Indian tariffs on US goods could fall to zero.

"In 2025, China’s total import of crude oil rose nearly 5% -- 4.9% to 11.6 million barrels per day (mbpd) from 11.1 mbpd in 2024 according to data released by the General Administration of Customs (GACC) in China. Seaborne imports increased an estimated 4.0% year-on-year. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), China’s stockpiles rose slightly less than 1 mbpd, indicating that the underlying import demand fell nearly 0.5 mbpd,” says Niels Rasmussen, Chief…

The U.S. Department of Energy is exploring a plan to exchange heavy Venezuelan oil for U.S. medium, sour crude to fill up the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, two sources said on Friday.The Trump administration is looking to move the Venezuelan crude into storage tanks at the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port from where the crude can be shipped to refineries. In exchange for the Venezuelan crude, companies will provide U.S. medium sour crude that can go directly into SPR storage, two sources said.Exchanges have been used in the past by the government to release and acquire oil.

OPEC's oil output fell in December due to lower supply from Iran and Venezuela, which offset an OPEC+ agreement to raise production for the month, a Reuters survey found on Friday.The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries pumped 28.40 million barrels per day last month, down 100,000 bpd from November's revised total, the survey showed, with Iran posting the largest decline.OPEC+, comprising OPEC and allies including Russia, has slowed the pace of its monthly output increases amid concerns of a supply glut.

Oil prices steadied on the first day of trade in 2026 after registering their biggest annual loss since 2020 as investors weighed oversupply concerns against geopolitical risks including the war in Ukraine and Venezuela exports.Brent crude futures LCOc1 dropped 4 cents on Friday to $60.81 a barrel by 1029 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 was down 3 cents at $57.39.Russia and Ukraine traded allegations of attacks on civilians on New Year's Day despite talks overseen by U.S.