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Letter from Iran: Nuclear miscalculation
The regime’s policy of using nuclear ambiguity as a deterrent may have failed but it has realised it has other cards to play, while its neighbours are reappraising their approach to security
Mideast plans big spending on gas to meet demand
The region’s gas producers are investing heavily in the fuel in order to satisfy burgeoning demand resulting from economic growth and a shift to cleaner fuels
Letter from the US: Oil refining gets a do-over
It is an unusual story of out with the new and in with the old, as America First Refining shows the US going back to trusted energy security developments
Rethinking the Middle East oil topography
The regional crisis highlights the undervalued role of fixed pipelines in the age of tanker flexibility
Letter from London: The oil market should panic tomorrow
Emergency oil stocks provide a last line of defence to oil market shocks, so the IEA’s unprecedented 400m bl release represents something of a double-edged sword
Letter from Dubai: A safe haven under fire
Missiles over Dubai and disruption in Hormuz are testing the emirate’s reputation—and shaking the energy hub at the centre of the Gulf economy
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
Explainer: Fujairah on high alert
With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed following US-Israel strikes and Iran’s retaliatory escalation, Fujairah has become the region’s critical pressure release valve—and is now under serious threat
Middle East oil vulnerabilities have been exposed
The killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei in US–Israeli strikes marks the most serious escalation in the region in decades and a bigger potential threat to the oil market than the start of the Russia-Ukraine crisis
How Hormuz chokehold threatens LNG buyers
A potential blockade of the Strait of Hormuz following the escalating US-Iran conflict risks disrupting Qatari LNG exports that underpin global gas markets, exposing Asia and other markets to sharp price spikes, cargo shortages and renewed reliance on dirtier fuels
Kuwat’s Al Zour refinery under construction in 2020
Midstream Bahrain Iran Kuwait Saudi Arabia UAE
Ehsan ul-Haq
29 July 2024
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Middle East takes control of oil supply chain

The region, known for its crude output, has gone from product importer to exporter, easing supply worries in Europe and creating a supply glut in Asia and elsewhere

The Middle Eastern refining sector has undergone a significant transformation in recent years, with a notable impact not only on refined product output in the region and elsewhere but also on the quality of crude oil supply available globally. The Middle East's growing role in global refining has helped Europe mitigate the impact of the West's ban on Russian oil imports. However, the region's increasing supply of refined products is exerting downward pressure on diesel cracks now, particularly in Asia but also in other markets worldwide. The Middle East was a refined product importer only a few decades ago, despite being the largest exporter of crude oil. This has changed in recent years. Th

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