Record tanker rates are choking U.S. crude flows to Asia. A U.S. Gulf-China supertanker hit $80M this month, 10x pre-war rates, and Asian orders for November U.S. crude fell about 50% from September to roughly 25M bbl. #Oil#Tankers#OOTT
Fuel oil is Asia's next cost shock. Singapore's HSFO crack to Dubai topped $10/bbl in mid-October, up from a $5 discount in February, as Gulf and Russian supply losses push the fuel above the crude it comes from. #FuelOil#Shipping#Oil#OOTT
Syria's transitional government is rebuilding its energy sector, retaking the Omar oil field and courting Chevron offshore. Pre-war output was 380,000 bpd; reserves are put at 1.3B boe. A Hormuz-bypass route is in play. #Syria#Oil#Energy#OOTT
Middle East physical crude is softening this week even as Brent futures hit a five-month high of $114. Iraq's Basrah Medium recently sold at a $10 discount to Dubai as Hormuz flows recover via ship-to-ship transfers. #OilPrice#Brent#OOTT
Freight is adding a hidden cost to oil: shipping about 2M barrels from the US to Japan on a VLCC could cost roughly $81M, or $40.50 a barrel, versus about $9M a year ago. Record tanker rates are reshaping crude flows. #Oil#Tankers#Shipping#OOTT
