Boom and doom
USO•Escalating attacks on energy infrastructure and oil shipments in the Middle East, alongside renewed strikes on Russian refineries, are making energy markets less confident that the disruption will be short-lived.
1. Energy tensions rise
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis struck the headquarters of Saudi Arabia’s national oil company, while attacks on tankers crossing the Strait of Hormuz continued to climb. In the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Kyiv resumed strikes on Russian refineries days after a US-announced energy infrastructure ceasefire, following fresh attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities.
2. Markets reassess disruption
Tehran has vowed to step up attacks on oil shipments leaving the Gulf ahead of the US midterm elections, while President Donald Trump said Washington would hold off on further strikes against Iran until after the vote. Expectations that the Iran conflict would cause only a temporary energy shock are giving way to a more uneasy outlook. Separately, TotalEnergies expects its refining margins to have nearly quadrupled in the third quarter compared with last year, citing higher energy prices.
