Market Outlook
Press

Marine fuel blenders, refiners chase heavy sweet oil amid Iran war disruptions

Cross BarrelCrudeDistillateFreightFuel OilGasolineJetNaphtha
Analyst briefsChart packsDeep divesEventsOpinionsPodcastsPressWebinarsWhitepapers
Published21 APR 26 - 10:03 Reading time  minutes
“As refineries are running at lower intake due to shortage of medium sour crude from the Middle East, they will need to pull in heavier crude alternatives including sweet barrels that can support maintaining runs.”

Reuters, April 21, 2026 – June Goh (Senior Oil Analyst, Sparta) highlights the structural squeeze on heavy sweet crude as refineries competing with marine fuel blenders for limited supplies divert barrels to offset Mideast disruptions. China’s Dar Blend imports surged to 300,000+ metric tons monthly from zero in February. Traders should monitor refinery intake decisions and watch whether blenders shift to unconventional feedstocks—a signal that blendstock shortages are becoming severe enough to risk fuel quality issues and potential engine damage claims.

Author

June Goh

Senior Oil Market Analyst

Rate this article

Average rating / 5. Vote count:

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.

Continue reading

  • New
  • Analyst brief
  • Crude

The calm in physical won’t last forever

Plenty market chatter about the incredible weak state of crude diffs with North Sea almost below...

08 MAY 26 - 13:01

  • New
  • Analyst brief
  • Freight

MR ballaster build: supply pressure mounting across key regions

MR ballaster counts have risen sharply over the past two weeks, with the most pronounced moves in...

08 MAY 26 - 10:01

  • New
  • Analyst brief
  • Cross Barrel

Week 17 Pricing Analyst Update – Nadia Riaz – AG – Cross Barrel

Refined oil prices across the Arab Gulf continued to rise as escalating tensions between the US and...

08 MAY 26 - 09:48

  • New
  • Analyst brief
  • Freight

TC2 morning update: vessel supply tightens to 9, seven gasoline fixtures yesterday, fundamentals outpacing sentiment

NWE MR prompt tonnage has tightened to 9 ships against a 90-day moving average of 14, with...

08 MAY 26 - 09:43

subscribe_cta_image

Real time alerts, set to your specifications

Subscribe