Saudi Arabia restarted crude oil loadings at the Red Sea port of Yanbu following partial restoration of its East-West pipeline, while Brent crude dropped below $96 per barrel as stealth tanker transits through the Strait of Hormuz recovered. Meanwhile, Yerevan and Rosatom opened talks on constructing a new 1 GW nuclear reactor unit, and Moscow restricted cash outflows to EAEU nations.
Global market
Saudi Arabia resumed crude oil loadings at Yanbu port on the Red Sea after its 4 million barrels per day (bpd) East-West pipeline returned to partial service. Simultaneously, stealth tanker transits with disabled transponders lifted Hormuz crude flows to 60% of normal levels, pulling Brent crude below $96 per barrel. In investment flows, the United Arab Emirates announced plans to invest an additional $25 billion in India’s energy sector, reported Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal. In the US, Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared a state of emergency over record diesel prices, while Italy’s natural gas storage reached 87%.
Russia & CIS
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak instructed energy regulators and the Federal Antimonopoly Service to tighten fuel price oversight and analyze supply risks across key regions, including Tomsk and Omsk Oblasts. In financial controls, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree prohibiting individuals from exporting over 1 million roubles in cash to EAEU member states—Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan—as well as Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. In nuclear operations, Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev confirmed 80 Russian specialists returned to Iran to resume construction on two new reactor units at the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant.
Armenia
Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev offered Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan a project to build a new 1 GW VVER-1000 nuclear reactor unit in Armenia under an international consortium, incorporating partners from the EU and Asia. Likhachev also confirmed Rosatom’s readiness to extend the existing nuclear plant’s lifespan to 2036, and potentially to 2046, though a 20-year extension would require hundreds of millions of dollars. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated Yerevan will decide on the new plant in the foreseeable future based strictly on price and quality. Retail fuel prices in Armenia remain stable, backed by long-term EAEU trade agreements shielding the domestic market from volatility reflected in international market price assessments.