Crude: Iraq – “Al-jar qabl al-dar”
"Choose the neighbour before you choose the house." – Arabic Proverb
Category: ‘Big Picture’ Regional Thoughts
SRFO: The K-Shaped Swing Barrel
Iraqi SRFO vs Venezuelan SRFO — the physical market is drawing a clear distinction between two very different 3.5% barrels.
LSFO & Heavy Sweet: Seeing the Wood for the Trees
China's changing appetite for Heavy Sweet, shifting LSFO flows and what they reveal about refinery priorities across Asia.
Power Markets: ENRON 2.0
How Enron's trading model still shapes today's energy markets—and why Europe's fragmented electricity grid has become fertile ground for the world's most sophisticated trading desks.
Kharg Light: Europe’s Door Back to Iranian Crude
If Europe wants to stay the course on Russia, Kharg Light is the crude that keeps the wolves from the door.
WTI: Hope Is Not a Strategy
Japan's response to Hormuz tells us more than any political statement ever could. Trust has been lost, and refinery purchasing behaviour suggests it may not be coming back anytime soon.
ARB West / East: Flogging a Dead Horse
The arbitrage is wide open, but Europe is still extracting every last ounce of value from Heavy Sweet before sending the finished barrel East.
HSFO: PAMPLONA “Crescendoing 380 Swell”
Open interest has now pushed through 6 million tonnes, with physical flows increasingly reinforcing the structure behind the move.
HSFO380: Cowboys and Guerillas
The June 380 structure is no longer being driven by curves alone — physical availability, tankage and strategic positioning are now dictating the market.
SRFO/VGO: A proxy for Iranian as opposed to an Iranian proxy
Iraqi SRFO moving via Syria is no longer theoretical — and Europe’s refiners are already positioning around the yield economics.