Mideast oil may soon have no way out amid ‘everything everywhere all at once’ wars, but the crisis in refined products is even worse
Mideast oil may soon have no way out amid ‘everything everywhere all at once’ wars, but the crisis in refined products is even worse
Source: Fortune
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DW NOTE
Fortune is worried about chokepoint risk to crude exports, but the headline buries the real crisis: refining capacity. The world doesn't run on barrels of crude — it runs on diesel, jet fuel, and gasoline. If Middle Eastern refineries go offline or shipping lanes close, the physical shortage hits diesel first, and Europe has no strategic reserve worth mentioning. WTI and Brent are both up roughly 20% this month but still 25% below annual highs, which means markets are pricing tension, not supply destruction — yet.