Oil prices drop 5% to three-week low after Trump cancels attack on Iran
XLE•Russian energy shipments face alternate routes
A Panama-flagged tanker carrying Russian naphtha attempted to pass through the Bab-el-Mandeb in the last week of July before changing course to sail around Africa instead, trade sources said and shipping data from LSEG showed.
Russia said on Monday it was stepping up protection of ships in the Azov-Black Sea basin while also developing alternative cargo routes, in a move that follows a sharp escalation of attacks at sea by both sides in the war in Ukraine.
The Russian transport ministry said that in response to "the tense situation in the Sea of Azov stemming from hostile drone attacks on maritime vessels," it had set up a task force to find new routes and switch cargo flows to other modes of transport.
Russia was the world's third-biggest crude oil producer behind the U.S. and Saudi Arabia in 2025, according to U.S. energy data, and is a member of the OPEC+ group of countries, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies.
