🚨 THE ENERGY CRISIS UNFOLDING IN REAL TIME
For 3 days, traders have watched a worst-case scenario play out. Here's what's hit:
THE DISRUPTIONS:
•Strait of Hormuz traffic down 94% (1/5 of global oil flows through here)
•Qatar LNG shutdown = 1/5 of global gas supply (unprecedented in LNG history)
•Saudi Arabia's largest refinery (Ras Tanura) halted
•UAE's Fujairah terminal/refinery suspended
•Iraq halted Kurdistan oil exports (200k barrels/day)
•Major shipping lines suspended bookings to Gulf ports
•Iran banned all food exports
•EU gas prices up 93% since Friday
WHY PRICES AREN'T HIGHER (YET): Markets are betting this ends quickly.
The US shale revolution gave the world swing capacity.
China has 1+ billion barrels in storage. Saudi and UAE have pipelines that bypass Hormuz.
But there's a ticking clock. JPMorgan says if Hormuz stays effectively closed for more than 25 days, Middle East producers will have to shut in output.
THE GAS CRISIS IS WORSE: Unlike oil, gas has zero buffer.
Europe's inventories are near seasonal lows. There's "virtually zero spare LNG capacity in the world."
If this drags on, we're looking at a 2022-style bidding war between Asia and Europe.
WHO'S SCREWED:
🇵🇰 Pakistan: 99% of LNG comes from Qatar
🇮🇳 India: 50% from Qatar, officials "in a state of panic"
🇪🇺 Europe: Low inventories, high exposure, here we go again
🇨🇳 China: 30% from Qatar (but has alternatives like Russian pipeline gas and coal)
WHO'S WINNING:
🇷🇺 Russia: Oil prices soaring
🇺🇸 US: Net exporter, largely insulated from global gas shock (allies feel it first)
THE INFLATION BOMB: We just got inflation back to target after Ukraine.
US gasoline already at 3-month high (political headache for Trump ahead of midterms).
If this continues, expect emergency releases from strategic reserves.
BOTTOM LINE: One oil historian called this "a scenario capable of causing the greatest oil supply upheaval in history."
Right now, markets are betting Trump wraps this up fast.
Every day that doesn't happen, the odds of a full-blown global energy crisis increase.
Sources: Bloomberg, Tasnim, DeItaone
A factory-fresh J-35A in green primer was seen again supporting claims, that LRIP was initiated.
Again, there’s currently NO official confirmation yet and even more NOTHING that suggests them for being for Pakistan.