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Letter from the Middle East: Iran-Israel war risks dire straits
A blockade of the Strait of Hormuz would have reverberations that would sound around the world
Israel-Iran war imperils Egypt’s energy supply
Egypt’s government was already preparing for potential energy shortages this summer, and the loss of Israeli gas supply has made things worse
The oil risk premium fable
Israel’s attack on Iran caught oil firms with low inventories due to their efforts to protect themselves from falling prices, creating a perfect storm
Saudi Arabia and Russia pull OPEC+ in different directions
The two oil heavyweights’ diverging fiscal considerations are straining unity within the group
Iraq seeks alternatives to Iranian gas
The country is facing energy shortfalls this summer amid reduced Iranian gas imports and difficulties leasing an FSRU
Is a Russia-Iran gas deal on the horizon?
Russia has ample spare gas, and Iran needs it, but sanctions and pricing pose steep hurdles.
OPEC++, the sequel, has arrived
It is time to acknowledge that the US-Saudi Arabia nexus is driving a fundamental shift in OPEC strategy
Saudi-US energy ties adapt to multipolar world
Saudi Arabia and US relations can construct a new ‘field of dreams’, but opportunism may be the new rules of the game
Asia proves a growing draw for Gulf players
A newly formed joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Sinopec signals rising Gulf interest in the Asian market
Saudi Arabia and Kuwait home in on disputed Dorra field
With contract awards looming on the Kuwait-Saudi backed Dorra field, the long-stalled gas project appears finally to be gaining traction—despite Iranian objections
The market is less reactive to gepolitical threads than it used to be
Saudi Arabia Iran Covid-19
Victor Kotsev
7 June 2021
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Oil traders focus on fundamentals, not geopolitics

Tolerance for perceived political risk has expanded, but such complacency could be dangerous

Gone are the days when a single incident involving an oil tanker carrying Saudi Arabian or other Mid-East Gulf crude could send oil prices soaring. Attacks on Saudi oil facilities have become an almost monthly affair recently, with minimal price impact. The market has become substantially more inured to geopolitical threats, after a year where the demand impact of global lockdowns has dominated traders’ thoughts. Largely positive developments such as the Abraham Accords and nuclear talks with Iran have added to a confidence that political risk is not a market-mover. But the consequences if these assumptions prove optimistic could be explosive. Oil markets have become less efficient in absorb

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