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Global oil price stuck in triple digits. Goldman Sachs says it may stay there for years
Oil prices dipped Friday but remained well above $100, with energy infrastructure in the Middle East damaged and the vital Strait of Hormuz still largely shut. Goldman Sachs even suggested that higher prices could last all the way through 2027. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, ticked down 0.1% to $108.5 a barrel, having risen to $110 earlier in the day. US crude was broadly flat at $95.6. “The persistence of several prior large supply shocks underscores the risk that oil prices may stay above $100 for longer in risk scenarios with lengthier disruptions and large persistent supply losses,” Goldman analysts wrote in a note Thursday.
Russia Sends Oil and Gas Tankers to Crisis-Hit Cuba, Defying U.S. Blockade
Russia has dispatched two tankers carrying oil and gas to Cuba as the island grapples with a deepening energy crisis exacerbated by a U.S. oil blockade, the Financial Times reported Wednesday. The ships would be providing the Caribbean island nation with its first energy shipments in three months. Fuel shortages have pushed Cuba into one of its most severe economic crises in decades, with widespread blackouts and disruptions to basic services. The Hong Kong-flagged tanker Sea Horse, which is believed to be loaded with around 27,000 tons of gas, is expected to arrive in Cuba in the coming days after diverting its course last month, Samir Madani, co-founder of maritime intelligence company TankerTrackers, told the FT. A second vessel, the Russian tanker Anatoly Kolodkin, is carrying between 725,000 and 728,000 barrels of oil and is due to reach Cuba in early April, he said.
Iran Negotiates Strait Passage for Yuan-Traded Oil with 8 Countries
Iran is negotiating with eight countries to allow passage through the Strait of Hormuz on the condition that oil is traded in Chinese yuan, CNN reported on the 17th. Following reports that these countries are considering a plan to permit ships from nations trading oil in yuan to pass through the strait, they are said to have contacted Iran to seek an agreement. CNN cited an Iranian security source on the same day, reporting, “Iran is in discussions with eight non-Middle Eastern countries regarding a proposal to guarantee safe passage for oil traded in the Chinese yuan.” The source added, “Separately from maintaining current blockade measures, Iran is also considering more comprehensive plans to manage maritime traffic through the strait.”
Drones attack one of the world's largest oil terminals in the UAE
Several Iranian drones attacked oil storage facilities in the port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates on March 14. A fire broke out at the site, according to CNN and Turkiye today. Emergency services arrived at the scene to extinguish the fire, and authorities are assessing the damage. The port is reportedly one of the world's largest oil storage and bunkering centers after Singapore. The port of Fujairah is located outside the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf of Oman, making it a strategically important energy center that allows oil to be exported bypassing the Strait.
‘Nightmare scenario’ looms as global markets head for the biggest oil output disruption in history, top energy guru warns
The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran is quickly spiraling into a worldwide energy crisis as the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz forces top oil producers to start slashing output. The seeds of the crisis go back to the late 1970s when Iranian oil workers went on strike and the revolution ushered in the Islamic Republic, Daniel Yergin, vice chair of S&P Global and the author of The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power, wrote in a Financial Times op-ed this weekend. “One legacy of all this has been the nightmare scenario of the oil that flows through the Gulf being interdicted by an extended and destructive war,” he added. “The fear? That this will result in skyrocketing energy prices that send the world economy plummeting into a deep recession. Ever since the war in Iran began a week ago, Tehran has done everything it can to turn this into reality.”