{"id":577055,"date":"2026-04-11T02:03:28","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T02:03:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/577055\/"},"modified":"2026-04-11T02:03:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T02:03:28","slug":"oil-ignores-escalation-logs-biggest-weekly-drop-since-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/577055\/","title":{"rendered":"Oil Ignores Escalation, Logs Biggest Weekly Drop Since 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

Despite the ongoing escalation in the Middle East, crude heads for its biggest weekly loss in months.<\/p>\n

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Friday, April 10, 2026 <\/p>\n

Is there a ceasefire or not? That is the ultimate question asked by the oil markets as the Strait of Hormuz remains open, strikes on energy infrastructure in the Middle East continue unabated (one could even say the damage reported by Saudi Arabia should be a turbocharger for prices) and the Lebanese issue continues to escalate. Nevertheless, oil is set to post its largest weekly loss since July 2025, with ICE Brent closing this week around $96 per barrel.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ceasefire Or Not, the Hormuz Is Still Closed. Despite the oil market\u2019s hopes for a gradual opening of the Strait of Hormuz, commercial navigation through the waterway remains dominated<\/a> by Tehran with Iranian cargoes accounting for all crude and refined product transits over the past two days.<\/p>\n

Saudi Admits Substantial Damage to Fields. Saudi Arabia reported<\/a> that this week\u2019s attack on its 7 million b\/d East-West pipeline led to a loss of 700,000 b\/d in throughput capacity, whilst a separate drone strike on its Khurais facility curbed Aramco\u2019s crude output capacity by 300,000 b\/d.<\/p>\n

OPEC+ Output Collapses in March. According to S&P Global, members of OPEC+ slashed their combined production by 8.11 million b\/d last month, seeing total output drop to 34.78 million b\/d due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, with Iraq cutting the most as it shut in some 2.75 million b\/d.<\/p>\n

China Allows State Refiners to Draw SPRs. The Chinese Energy Ministry has given<\/a> state-owned refiners such as Sinopec and CNPC the approval to tap strategic oil reserves held in commercial storages, allowing the drawdown of up to 1 million b\/d of crude from the 1.4 billion barrels of SPR inventories.<\/p>\n

Rare Russian Tanker Bursts into Gulf. A Russian-flagged VLCC tanker passed<\/a> through the Strait of Hormuz into the Persian Gulf, a rare move as ships usually seek to escape the blocked waterway, considering the ship\u2019s history hauling Venezuelan oil it would most probably sail to Iran.<\/p>\n

Japan Releases SPR for Struggling Refiners. Japan\u2019s government plans to release<\/a> 20 days\u2019 worth of oil reserves to ensure stable domestic supply, tapping into its strategic petroleum reserves since March 16, with the public inventory of available crude currently totalling of 143 days of consumption.<\/p>\n

Brazil Fights Its War on Oil Export Tax. Brazil will appeal a federal court ruling that suspended the government\u2019s recently announced 12% crude oil export tax for foreign investors<\/a> such as TotalEnergies, Sinopec or Equinor, with Brazilian judges claiming such a windfall levy would be unconstitutional.<\/p>\n

Shell Aims for Venezuelan Gas in 2027. Energy major Shell (LON:SHEL) announced<\/a> it plans to commission the Loran-Manatee offshore field straddling the border between Venezuela and Trinidad & Tobago next year, building up 1 Bcf\/d of takeaway pipeline capacity to feed its gas to Atlantic LNG.<\/p>\n

China Issues Additional Import Quotas. China has granted private refiners \u2013 the so-called teapots operating in the northeast of the country \u2013 additional<\/a> import quotas totalling almost 55 million tonnes (402 million barrels) to guarantee high run rates as Beijing seeks to ensure stable fuel supply.<\/p>\n

Mexico Makes U-Turn on Fracking. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has hinted<\/a> at a potential government approval for fracking, marking a departure from her previous support for a full ban on hydraulic fracturing, as PEMEX seeks to lower its dependence on US natural gas imports.<\/p>\n

US Tests Market Appetite for Sour SPR Barrels. The US Department of Energy is offering<\/a> 30 million barrels of crude oil from its West Hackberry storage site, with proposals for potential oil swap deals expected until April 13, the third solicitation so far from Trump\u2019s 172-million-barrel SPR pledge.<\/p>\n

Libya Rejoices as New Discoveries Abound. Libya\u2019s National Oil Corp. announced<\/a> the discovery of three new oil and gas fields in the Ghadames and Murzuq basins, with the finds coming on the back of NOC teaming up with Eni, Repsol and Algeria\u2019s Sonatrach on the three respective exploration areas.<\/p>\n

Indonesia Diverts LNG for Domestic Use. Indonesian authorities have issued a directive<\/a> to defer 9 LNG export cargoes from the country\u2019s 11.5 mtpa Tangguh facility and instead use them domestically, adjourning prospective delivery dates to 2027 as Southeast Asia faces a gas supply crunch.<\/p>\n

Relief in Sight for Japan\u2019s Struggling Reactor. Japan\u2019s leading generation company Tokyo Electric Power (TYO:9501) expects the world\u2019s largest nuclear reactor in Kashiwazaki-Kariwa to start commercial operations on April 16, providing a massive boost to the country\u2019s costly dependence on LNG imports.<\/p>\n

By Tom Kool for Oilprice.com<\/p>\n

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com<\/p>\n

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