The US Department of Energy allocated 4 million barrels of crude oil from strategic reserves to ExxonMobil and BP America following Hurricane Isaias, while Persian Gulf supertanker freight rates hit a record $1.4 million per day. Concurrently, European leaders criticized the US-Russia fuel agreement, and Washington threatened to cut intelligence sharing to Kyiv over refinery strikes.
Global market
Persian Gulf to East Asia supertanker freight rates surged 40% in early October to a record $1.4 million per day, Bloomberg reported, as the Iran war extends shipping routes. To address severe supply strains and Hurricane Isaias, the US Department of Energy allocated 4 million barrels of crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to ExxonMobil and BP America (2 million barrels each). Meanwhile, the IEA and G7 agreed to release an additional 100 million barrels of diesel, gasoline, and crude oil, further depleting emergency stocks. In regional security, a missile strike on Riyadh International Airport in Saudi Arabia injured about 50 people, while Mexican state oil firm Pemex requires $110 billion in investment to hit output targets.
Russia & CIS
US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner warned a Ukrainian delegation that Washington may cut intelligence sharing if Ukraine continues drone attacks on Russian refineries, reported the Financial Times. Addressing the US-Russia fuel deal, US President Donald Trump stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin is releasing crude at a very low price, prompting Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal to criticize the agreement. In the US Congress, Representative Brian Fitzpatrick introduced the Reagan Act bill to ban Russian oil imports. At the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, communications director Yevgeniya Yashina stressed the need for emergency generator diesel reserves.
Armenia
The IEA’s 100 million barrel emergency fuel release and supertanker freight rates hitting $1.4 million per day establish a high-risk regional environment for Armenia’s supply chains. Volatility across Middle Eastern shipping lanes heightens import risks for Transcaucasian energy corridors. Despite global market turmoil, retail prices for petrol, diesel, and compressed natural gas in Armenia remain stable. Natural gas imports from Russia and generation at the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant continue without interruption under long-term EAEU trade agreements shielding the domestic market from price shocks recorded by international market price assessments.