Overview
- U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told the Houston conference the disruption is temporary, pointing to strategic reserve releases of up to 1.5 million barrels per day that could approach 3 million and efforts to steer supplies to Asian refineries.
- President Donald Trump paused strikes on Iranian power plants for five days after what he called productive talks, a signal that sent oil prices lower on Monday even as Tehran disputed that negotiations are underway.
- Saudi Aramco chief Amin Nasser canceled his appearance to remain in the kingdom as the company reroutes crude to the Red Sea and has cut about 2 million barrels per day from two fields, according to Reuters reporting.
- Iran-linked attacks have damaged Gulf energy assets, including a March 19 drone strike on the SAMREF Aramco-Exxon refinery and hits that left roughly 17% of Qatar’s Ras Laffan LNG capacity offline, Reuters reported.
- Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has plunged from its prewar share of about one-fifth of global oil flows, with executives warning of Asian supply strains and forecasting very high LNG prices by late summer if the waterway remains shut.