The International Energy Agency has defined the ongoing shipping blockade in the Strait of Hormuz as the largest energy crisis in history as benchmark Brent crude futures hovered near 94 dollars per barrel. Concurrently, Ukrainian drone strikes penetrated deep into the Russian rear to strike a major refinery in Perm, while domestic fuel controversies emerged on Armenia’s retail market.
Global market
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the current Strait of Hormuz shipping disruptions resulting from the intense US-Iran confrontation have triggered the largest energy crisis in history. With weekly transit through the blockaded strait dropping to single-digit figures, benchmark Brent crude futures stabilized at 94.00 dollars per barrel (approaching the 100-dollar mark), while Asian spot gas prices spiked to 24.00 dollars per MMBtu. This shipping blockade has forced independent Chinese refiners to scramble for alternative supplies, as China’s imports of Iranian crude oil collapsed to 534,000 barrels per day in August, down from 823,000 barrels per day in July, according to preliminary Kpler data.
In response, major Middle Eastern exporters are actively rerouting their supply chains. State-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco increased its crude exports via Egypt’s Mediterranean port of Sidi Kerir by 33 percent, utilizing a shuttle system from the Red Sea port of Yanbu to completely bypass the dangerous Bab-el-Mandeb Strait. Meanwhile, in South America, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva approved deepwater exploration in the ecologically sensitive Amazon mouth, describing Petrobras’s discovery at the Morpho-1 well (located in block FZA-M-59, 180 kilometers off the Amapa coast) as “a passport to the country’s future.”
Russia & CIS
The geographical scope of security risks facing Russian energy infrastructure widened significantly as Ukrainian drones successfully attacked Lukoil’s oil refinery in Perm, located over 1,600 kilometers from the border. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy officially confirmed the strike on Russia’s deep-rear energy facilities. In response to the growing supply strains, Russian Vice Premier Alexander Novak convened an emergency fuel market meeting, ordering oil companies to optimize refinery maintenance schedules and mandating that all retail stations display the fuel ecological class on price boards and cash receipts.
According to the Russian Ministry of Energy, domestic supply has been bolstered through increased motor fuel deliveries, imports, and the production of K2, K3, and K4 ecological grade fuels, which helped ease retail deficits in Chuvashia and the Kirov region. In the Black Sea, salvage crews fully completed pumping fuel oil from the hulls of the tankers Volga-Neft 212 and Volga-Neft 239, which sank in December 2024. However, regional nuclear safety concerns remain critical; Russian Foreign Ministry representative Rodion Miroshnik warned of catastrophic consequences for Europe as the Zaporizhzhia NPP remained entirely cut off from the external power grid for over 24 hours following the disconnection of the “Ferrosplavnaya-1” high-voltage transmission line.
Armenia
In Armenia, initial consumer optimism faded as the price relief from cheaper Azerbaijani petrol imports proved short-lived, according to reports from Sputnik Armenia. Analysts noted that the temporary price decline at gas stations quickly reversed once local importers abandoned promotional pricing and shifted toward extracting superprofits from retail distribution, raising serious questions about the fairness of current domestic retail tariffs.
While local retail fuel prices and natural gas tariffs remained stable on August 21, the republic remains highly vulnerable to these compounding Eurasian logistical disruptions. To mitigate external shocks, Armenia continues to rely on its integration within the EAEU. Bilateral agreements with Moscow guarantee uninterrupted, duty-free imports of Russian natural gas and petroleum products at stable, non-market rates. This administrative shield successfully protects Armenian consumers and industries from global market volatility, preventing domestic retail rates from being determined by fluctuating international market price assessments.
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