crude oil

U.S. refineries are operating at about 97% capacity as they compensate for global refining capacity lost to war damage elsewhere. Now, upcoming run-of-the-mill maintenance adds even more pressure on markets.

Oil companies that drill in West Texas are seeing big wartime profits, but many are holding back on aggressive capital spending, wary of repeating the boom-bust cycles that followed the pandemic when prices collapsed after a drilling surge.

The country still has hundreds of millions of barrels left. But inventories can only get so low before the supply chain starts to break down.

Fitch Ratings upgraded its oil and gas sector outlook to “improving” from “neutral,” and Moody’s maintained its positive outlook.

China had more than a billion barrels of crude oil in reserve when the war in Iran disrupted the market. The country has also spent years diversifying its energy sources and accelerating electrification.

WTI, Brent and Dubai oil are the three major oil benchmarks that serve as reference prices for traders. Meanwhile, the sourness or sweetness of the oil dictates how complex the conversion process will be.

In the U.S., we’re paying more at the pump. Abroad, the war in the Middle East may have more dire and immediate effects — that’s especially true in South and Southeast Asia.

The U.S. is allowing Russian crude oil to be delivered to Cuba after months of what has essentially been a blockade.

California refineries depend on crude oil from the region.

While the conflict could raise prices at the pump for American consumers, China will feel the biggest disruption to its energy market.