🛢️Oil Trading/downstream & upstream industry professional since 1997. Expat in Singapore, Iraq, Dubai. Commodity, Tech,Stocks, #EV, Markets. Only own views
US Official: Expeditionary force of 2,500 US Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, along with 2,500 sailors, arrived in the Middle East aboard the USS Tripoli - NYT.
Talks in the administration the past month touched upon possible seizure of Kharg Island, key Iranian oil export hub, and raids into other coastal areas near the Strait of Hormuz to find and destroy weapons that can target commercial and military shipping, officials said.
"The region's top producer, Emirates Global Aluminium, said it sustained 'significant damage' at its site in Abu Dhabi, while Aluminium Bahrain said it was assessing the extent of damage... the Middle East accounts for around 9% of global supply." https://t.co/leu9EoGDSb
NEW: Iraq faces a potential $7 billion monthly revenue loss as the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked.
With 90% of public spending dependent on oil, the race is on to secure overland alternatives through Turkey and Jordan.
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#IranWar#Iraq#StraitOfHormuz #Turkey #Jordan
Some notable comments from Nechirvan Barzani:
• He says they have contacted Iran over yesterday’s attack, which killed six Peshmerga. According to Barzani, ‘the Iranians admitted said it was a mistake and offered condolences’. He added, however, that they are still awaiting a formal Iranian response explaining what happened and why the Peshmerga were targeted.
• He also said the Kurdistan Region would not become a ‘threat to Iran’ and would remain neutral in the war.
• On Iraqi militias targeting the Kurdistan Region, Barzani said the attacks were not limited to Kurdistan but were hitting areas across Iraq. He said they must be stopped, while stressing that Erbil is not the only place under attack.
Iraq has some of the world’s largest oil reserves but the money it earns doesn’t fully flow through Baghdad. Instead, a system set up after the US invasion in 2003 still gives Washington lasting leverage over Iraq's oil revenues.
Al Jazeera’s Osama bin Javaid explains.
Gas infrastructure is spewing methane and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as airstrikes intensify and the Strait of Hormuz remains closed. https://t.co/F1hTr7x6cz
JPMorgan on Gold:
“This is an extremely brutal flush. But from our perspective, what it's telling us is more about gold getting caught up in a contagion risk of a sell everything trade."
“The longer the energy disruption goes on and the more sizeable the inflationary and, importantly, growth impacts become, we still think the backdrop for gold will likely quickly flip materially bullish,”