Israel strikes Yemen’s Houthi-held Red Sea port city

: Condensate, Crude oil
24/07/21

Israel's military on Saturday struck Houthi-controlled Red Sea port of Hodeidah in Yemen, in retaliation for a drone attack by the Iran-backed militant group on Tel Aviv a day earlier, further stoking heightened geopolitical tensions in a key shipping lane for the global economy.

Israel's airstrikes targeted "the power station that supplies the coastal city of Hodeidah" and also "the Hodeidah port and fuel tanks," Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree said. The Houthi-run Al Masirah TV broadcast live footage of flames and smoke raging in the port's oil storage facilities that it said were hit.

Saree vowed an "inevitable" and "huge" retaliation to Israel's assault. Saree also claimed on Sunday that the group fired ballistic missiles targeting Eilat in southern Israel. Israel's Defence Forces (IDF) said on Sunday it intercepted a "surface-to-surface missile that approached Israeli territory from Yemen."

The IDF on 20 July officially claimed the attack on Houthi-controlled Yemeni territory. "After 9 months of continuous aerial attacks by the Houthis in Yemen toward Israel, IAF [Israeli air force] fighter jets conducted an extensive operational strike over 1,800km away against Houthi terrorist military targets in the area of Al Hudaydah Port in Yemen," the IDF said.

"This port serves as an entryway for Iranian weapons for the Houthi terrorist regime," the IDF said, and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu made similar remarks in a televised speech.

Houthi spokesperson and chairman of Al Masirah media network Mohammed Abdulsalam in a statement on social media platform X said that the Israeli attack targeted "civilian facilities." He also vowed that the attacks will only "increase the determination of the Houthis to ramp up their support for Gaza."

Yemen's crude production collapsed soon after the start of the country's civil war, from around 170,000 b/d in 2011-13. The Houthi group uses Hodeidah's port to import some needed fuel oil shipments, with data from analytics firm Kpler suggesting the port received two shipments totalling 156,000 bls between June and July.

Hodeidah is also an entry port for humanitarian fuel and food deliveries under the UN auspices, which are then distributed both to the internationally-recognized government of Yemen and to the Houthi authorities.

Video footage posted on social media appear to show long queues in front of gas stations in Houthi-controlled areas, in anticipation of a possible fuel shortage closing in.

Yemen's internationally recognized and Saudi-backed governing body condemned Israel's attack in a statement. It also renewed its warning to "the terrorist Houthi militias against continuing to tie Yemenis' fate in service of the Iranian regime's interests and its expansionist project in the region."

Saudi Arabia's defense ministry on Sunday denied any relation or involvement in the targeting of Hodeidah, adding that the country will not allow any entity to violate its airspace.

Yemen's Houthis on 19 July claimed responsibility for a drone attack in central Tel Aviv in Israel that claimed the life of one citizen and injured eight, according to the IDF. It marked a significant escalation that risked a regional spillover of the 10-month conflict between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas, especially with Israel highlighting the Iranian origin of the UAV.

Israel and Iran avoided a full-blown war in April after a significant escalation led to exchanging direct aerial strikes against each other's territory. But the IDF attack opens yet another area of confrontation for Israel in the region in the aftermath of the 10-month conflict between between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas.

Iran-backed Houthis began attacking commercial ships in and around the Red Sea six weeks after the Israel-Hamas war broke out in October last year in what they claim is an act of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Houthis are part of Tehran's so-called 'Axis of Resistance,' a regional proxy network that includes the Gaza-based Hamas militant group, Lebanon's Hezbollah and Iraqi Shia militias.

By Bachar Halabi

Related news posts

Argus illuminates the markets by putting a lens on the areas that matter most to you. The market news and commentary we publish reveals vital insights that enable you to make stronger, well-informed decisions. Explore a selection of news stories related to this one.

25/04/15

IEA slashes 2025 global refinery runs growth forecast

London, 15 April (Argus) — The IEA has sharply lowered its forecast for refinery run growth this year, citing escalating tensions in global trade. In its latest Oil Market Report (OMR) published today, the energy watchdog said it expects growth in global crude runs of 340,000 b/d, down by 40pc from its previous forecast of 570,000 b/d. The IEA sees total global crude runs averaging 83.2mn b/d this year. Increased throughput from non-OECD countries still drives this year's growth, with the IEA expecting an increase of 830,000 b/d to 47.6mn b/d. The IEA has not adjusted this figure, as stronger runs in China through the first quarter of this year and higher Russian forecasts have offset downgrades in other non-OECD countries. Chinese crude runs in January and February averaged 15.2mn b/d, around 470,000 b/d higher than the IEA's forecast, it said. The body raised its Russian forecasts from the second quarter as Ukrainian attacks on Russian infrastructure have slowed. The IEA forecasts OECD refinery runs will fall by 490,000 b/d this year because of refinery closures, resulting in a cut from its previous forecast of 100,000 b/d, to 35.6mn b/d. OECD Europe runs are forecast to fall by 310,000 b/d on the year to 10.9mn b/d. OECD crude runs rose by 200,000 b/d on the year in February, 40,000 b/d higher than the IEA expected. Throughput was particularly weak in the first quarter of 2024, when extreme cold cut US run rates. In Mexico, state-owned Pemex's 340,000 b/d Olmeca refinery has still not reached stable operations having started up in mid-2024. The refinery ran no crude in January because of crude quality constraints, the IEA said, and February output there was 7,000 b/d. The IEA estimates the refinery's second crude unit will come online in the fourth quarter. The IEA said refiners will add more than 1mn b/d of global capacity in 2026, but it forecast growths in crude runs of only 300,000 b/d for that year. Assuming all new and expanded refineries come into operation by then, producers will have to cut runs at older refineries, it said. Capacity additions will be largest in Asia-Pacific. The IEA expects China's 320,000 b/d Panjin refinery to come online in the second half of 2026, and for producers to add capacity of 480,000 b/d in India. It sees growth in crude runs as focused on the Mideast Gulf, and runs across the OECD falling. By Josh Michalowski Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Keystone oil pipeline to restart today, pressure capped

25/04/14

Keystone oil pipeline to restart today, pressure capped

Calgary, 14 April (Argus) — The 622,000 b/d Keystone oil pipeline is repaired and has approval to restart at a reduced pressure less than a week after spilling crude in North Dakota. Pipeline operator South Bow is planning a "controlled restart" of the Keystone system today, provided weather cooperates, the company said. The repair and restart plans were approved by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), which issued a corrective action order (COA) to the Calgary-based midstream company on 11 April. The pipeline is a major carrier of Canadian heavy crude destined for both the US midcontinent and the Gulf coast but was shut down on 8 April after spilling 3,500 bl near Kathryn, North Dakota. About 2,845 bl had been recovered by 12 April, according to PHMSA. The COA indicates Keystone was operating at 1,251 pounds per square inch gauge (psig) at the time of failure, below the maximum allowed operating pressure of 1,440 psig for the pipeline. Flow rate at the time of failure was 17,844 bl per hour. Keystone will be capped at 80pc of the pressure at the time of the failure, or 1,000 psig. PHMSA noted five prior spills from Keystone occurring in 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020 and 2022 that saw releases of 400, 6,592, 4,515, 442 and 12,937 bl of crude, respectively, which "show a tendency or pattern in recent years of increasingly frequent incidents resulting in larger releases". Prices on either side of the pipeline break narrowed ahed of Keystone's imminent return-to-service. Heavy sour Western Canadian Select (WCS) in Hardisty, Alberta, has narrowed by about 75¢/bl to a $9.10/bl discount to the May Nymex WTI calendar month average, so far, while the same assessment in the Houston, Texas, area has widened by nearly 30¢/bl to about a $2.40/bl discount to the May basis. By Brett Holmes Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Funding cuts could delay US river lock work: Correction

25/04/14

Funding cuts could delay US river lock work: Correction

Corrects lock locations in paragraph 5. Houston, 14 April (Argus) — The US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) will have to choose between various lock reconstruction and waterway projects for its annual construction plan after its funding was cut earlier this year. Last year Congress allowed the Corps to use $800mn from unspent infrastructure funds for other waterways projects. But when Congress passed a continuing resolutions for this year's budget they effectively removed that $800mn from what was a $2.6bn annual budget for lock reconstruction and waterways projects. This means a construction plan that must be sent to Congress by 14 May can only include $1.8bn in spending. No specific projects were allocated funding by Congress, allowing the Corps the final say on what projects it pursues under the new budget. River industry trade group Waterways Council said its top priority is for the Corps to provide a combined $205mn for work at the Montgomery lock in Pennsylvania on the Ohio River and Chickamauga lock in Tennessee on the Tennessee River since they are the nearest to completion and could become more expensive if further delayed. There are seven active navigation construction projects expected to take precedent, including the following: the Chickamauga and Kentucky Locks on the Tennessee River; Locks 2-4 on the Monongahela River; the Three Rivers project on the Arkansas River; the LaGrange Lock on the Illinois River; Lock 25 on the Mississippi River; and the Montgomery Lock on the Ohio River. There are three other locks in Texas, Pennsylvania and Illinois that are in the active design phase (see map) . By Meghan Yoyotte Corps active construction projects 2025 Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Shale patch on edge after tariff drama

25/04/14

Shale patch on edge after tariff drama

New York, 14 April (Argus) — US president Donald Trump's back and forth over tariffs that sent oil prices tumbling to a four-year low last week has sparked jitters across the shale patch, although most producers are likely to take their time to respond. The oil and gas industry, one of Trump's biggest cheerleaders and donors during his election campaign, has been taken aback by the speed and scale of the president's escalating trade wars and executives are signalling growing impatience. Meanwhile, Trump's "Drill, baby, drill" mantra is even less likely to become a reality now, after oil slid below the $65/bl level that executives surveyed by the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank last month warned was needed to profitably sink a new well. Trump's imposition of punitive tariffs on nearly every major US trading partner led to a sell-off in stock, bonds and commodity markets until he announced a 90-day pause for most nations — except China — on 9 April. While it may be too early for talk about dropping rigs and curtailing production, companies will face tough questions from analysts about their contingency plans when first-quarter results start coming through later this month. One key difference from previous downturns in 2014 and 2020 is that exploration and production (E&P) firms are in a better position this time, with less debt on their balance sheets and more modest growth plans, which may help limit the initial fallout. But higher costs owing to tariffs on steel imports could offset the efficiency savings that have kept production going in an era of restrained spending. "E&Ps are likely to mostly take a wait-and-see approach — with a high level of uncertainty about future policy — and not prematurely lay down rigs," consultancy Enverus principal analyst Andrew Dittmar says. "If prices are weak headed into 2026, that is where you are likely to see a more material reduction in drilling budgets. Feeling dominated The shale industry has welcomed Trump's "energy dominance" agenda and his promise of a permitting overhaul. But cracks are appearing in that relationship because of his stop-start policy on tariffs. "This administration better have a plan," Diamondback Energy president Kaes Van't Hof said in a social media post, in a direct appeal to energy secretary Chris Wright. Shale is the "only industry that actually built itself in the US, manufactures in the US, grew jobs in the US and improved the trade deficit — and by proxy GDP — in the US over the past decade", Van't Hof, who is due to become Diamondback chief executive later this year, said. His company became the largest pure-play producer in the prolific Permian basin of west Texas and southeast New Mexico following its $26bn takeover of Endeavor Energy Resources last year. While few public producers were planning any kind of meaningful growth this year as higher dividends and buy-backs continue to be the priority, even that could eventually find itself on the chopping block. "The corporate reality for public players means that already modest growth could be at risk if prices remain near $60/bl," Rystad Energy vice-president for North American oil and gas Matthew Bernstein says. Little in the way of growth was forecast outside the core Permian this year even before Trump rolled out his tariffs. A prolonged period of lower prices could spur a downturn in the top-performing US basin. A combination of short-term activity levels, investor distributions and production could be sacrificed in order to defend margins, according to Rystad. And producers in the Delaware sub-basin could be especially vulnerable, given the region's steep initial decline rates, high well costs and large capital return requirements, the consultancy says. By Stephen Cunningham WTI breakeven price Nymex WTI futures month 1 Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Opec cuts oil demand forecasts on tariffs impact

25/04/14

Opec cuts oil demand forecasts on tariffs impact

London, 14 April (Argus) — Opec has cut its oil demand growth forecasts by 150,000 b/d for this year and 2026, citing US trade tariffs. In its latest Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR), published today, Opec revised down its 2025 oil consumption growth projection to 1.3mn b/d, from 1.45mn b/d in its previous report. It said this was because of received data in the first three months of the year and "announced US tariffs." For 2026, the producer group now sees oil use growing by 1.28mn b/d, compared with 1.43mn b/d previously. It now sees demand at 105.05mn b/d in 2025, and at 106.33mn b/d in 2026. The outlook for oil demand and prices have sharply deteriorated since US President Donald Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariff announcements and the Opec+ alliance's decision to speed up planned output hikes, both decisions taken in early April. But Opec's oil demand revisions are relatively modest compared with those by some investment banks in recent weeks. Goldman Sachs slashed its oil demand forecast for this year to just 300,000 b/d. Morgan Stanley sees demand growth at 500,000 b/d in the second half of this year, half of its prior estimate. In terms of supply, Opec cut its non-Opec+ liquids growth forecast by 100,000 b/d for 2025 and for 2026, to 910,000 b/d and 900,000 b/d respectively. The US was the main driver for downward revision in both years: Opec now sees the country adding 400,000 b/d in 2025 and 380,000 b/d in 2026, compared with 450,000 b/d and 460,000 b/d previously. Opec+ crude production — including Mexico — fell by 37,000 b/d to 41.02mn b/d in March, according to an average of secondary sources that includes Argus . Opec puts the call on Opec+ crude at 42.6mn b/d in 2025 and 42.8mn b/d in 2026. By Aydin Calik Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Business intelligence reports

Get concise, trustworthy and unbiased analysis of the latest trends and developments in oil and energy markets. These reports are specially created for decision makers who don’t have time to track markets day-by-day, minute-by-minute.

Learn more