Tankers wait at anchor in Muscat, Oman, unable to traverse the Strait of Hormuz
The diesel crisis
By shutting the Strait of Hormuz, Iran has cut exports of distillate-rich Middle Eastern crude, jet fuel and diesel, and is holding the energy market hostage
All crises and all crudes are not the same. Those buying and selling oil—from large traders to major oil firms—all view the current crisis in the Middle East as the worst disruption since futures markets began trading in the mid-1980s. The crisis is not all about crude oil and is clearly not about gasoline except in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington—where Asian hoarding may bring back gasoline queues. This time it is mainly about diesel. Fig.1 provides a visual measure of the crisis. The graph tracks the price spread (difference) between WTI and Mars. WTI crude is produced in the US Permian Basin, primarily through fracking. It is a light oil that contains little sulphur. Wh
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10 March 2026
By shutting the Strait of Hormuz, Iran has cut exports of distillate-rich Middle Eastern crude, jet fuel and diesel, and is holding the energy market hostage
10 March 2026
Eni’s director for global gas and LNG portfolio, Cristian Signoretto, discusses how demand will respond to rising LNG supply, and how the company is expanding its own gas and LNG operations through disciplined, capital-efficient investments
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Petroleum Economist analysis sees increases in output from Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Kazakhstan among others before region’s murky descent
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Energy sanctions are becoming an increasingly prominent tool of US foreign policy, with the country’s growth in oil and gas production allowing it to impose pressure on rivals without jeopardising its own energy security or that of its allies, argues Matthew McManus, a visiting fellow at the National Center for Energy Analytics
