Épisodes

  • Episode 100: The great divergence: crude collapses while products rally
    Jul 2 2026

    Felipe Elink Schuurman and research heads Neil Crosby, James Noel-Beswick, and Jorge Molinero mark episode 100 analyzing crude's peak weakness versus 10-year-high distillate rallies. Russia's refinery crisis, Hormuz rebalancing, and when stock replenishment becomes the real floor signal.

    Chapters:

    **(01:47) Hormuz reopens, but the real question is what comes next**

    10-15 million barrels per day flowing out, but Iran maximizing exports while US refills reserves.

    **(08:46) Russia's refining collapse is reshaping global product markets**

    Runs halved from 6M to 3M bpd. Ukraine's drone campaign crippling refineries. Fuel imports imminent.

    **(12:50) Distillates at 10-year highs: Russian exports collapsing, US yields maxed**

    Global diesel and jet spreads outdoing 2022. East-West spreads historic. Products decoupling from crude.

    **(17:25) Gasoline: The trend is your friend, but watch blending margins**

    RBOB and EBOB spreads rally to $51 on stock depletion. Arbs from ARA still pointing West.

    **(27:20) Crude at peak weakness: Why the TI Brent short thesis works now**

    Paper collapsed, logs battered, all solutions materialized. Neil on why prices can only rise from here.

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    41 min
  • Episode 101: Russia bans diesel, Hormuz reignites. What breaks first?
    Jul 9 2026

    June Goh hosts her first episode with Abhishek Kumar as the US-Iran ceasefire cracks and Hormuz transits collapse to near zero. They cover Brent flipping back to backwardation, Russia's diesel export ban, China's product relaxation, European cracks near 60, the ADNOC tender, and a short HOGO trade idea.

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    Chapters:

    (01:45) Hormuz reignites and the ceasefire cracks Vessels attacked, US revokes Iranian oil license, transits near zero. Trump says the truce is effectively over.

    (03:13) Spreads, OPEC+ and depleted inventories Brent flips to backwardation, OPEC+ adds another August barrel, global stocks still down over 1 billion barrels.

    (06:21) Can China save the product market? Beijing clears 1.3 million tons of product exports, but volumes skew to gasoline and jet, not diesel.

    (08:07) Russia's diesel ban and refinery 101 Drone strikes force a Russian export ban. June breaks down which units get hit and what it signals.

    (12:08) Crude: the ADNOC tender and the mini glut Chinese teapots buy Upper Zakum, Dubai returns to backwardation, how you can be short crude yet see a glut.

    (15:01) Distillates, jet and freight European cracks surge past 60, a short HOGO idea, jet becomes a diesel story, Michael Ryan's de-escalation freight case.

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    21 min
  • Episode 99: Brent flips to contango. Is the crude crisis over?
    Jun 25 2026

    Neil Crosby, June Goh and Abhishek Kumar unpack Brent's shock flip into contango as Hormuz reopens and AG crude floods back. Dubai swaps at minus one, the "Asian crude buffet," a potential Russian diesel ban, and why jet looks weaker than diesel into summer.

    Chapters:

    (01:23) Brent flips to contango: the crude sell-off

    Brent and Dubai flip into contango as Hormuz reopens. Traders extrapolate supply forward, but is it fair value?

    (09:15) The Asian crude buffet

    Dubai swaps at minus one, Murban dives $10, Iranian waiver lands. Why nobody wants the risk yet.

    (16:57) OPEC, UAE and refinery runs

    UAE back to max, China independents at a nine-year low. How fast does AG supply return?

    (20:40) Distillates and the Russian diesel ban

    Diesel off panic pricing but not loose. Abhishek leans bearish jet and HOGO as flows normalize.

    (30:13) Gasoline and naphtha

    Houston still tightest globally, but US peak tightness looks behind us. Weak naphtha caps any gasoline upside.

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    34 min
  • Episode 98: Iran signs, crude breaks $80, but we're now oversold
    Jun 18 2026

    Felipe Elink Schuurman, Neil Crosby and James Noel-Beswick dig into the signed Iran-US MOU and a market pricing rapid de-escalation. Crude under $80, Dubai swaps in contango, an oversold barrel. They weigh whether Hormuz reopens cleanly or shipping delays keep oil short for longer.

    Chapters:

    (00:31) The Iran MOU: signed, but what was signed?

    A $300bn package, a 60-day Hormuz waiver and a deal that looks better for Iran than the US.

    (06:31) Scenarios: oversold now, but is it real?

    Dubai swaps in contango, longs washed out. Neil maps the path from here over the next six weeks.

    (15:43) Distillates: cracks cool, US stocks stay perilous

    Gas oil spreads sell off hard, but heating oil holds as PADD diesel stocks signal slowing US exports.

    (18:57) Gasoline: the US bounce and Europe's supply wall

    RBOB spreads firm as arbs open to New York, while Dangote and Northwest Europe cap the upside.

    (23:32) Crude: heavy everywhere except the US

    AG and Brent diffs plummet, US tightens then peaks, and China is the swing nobody can call.

    (29:03) Fuel oil: 0.5 looks oversold

    East-west back below $40/ton at pre-war levels, with arbs shut and Dangote barely breaking even.

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    32 min
  • Episode 97: Hormuz transits accelerate but risk is high.
    Jun 10 2026

    Neil Crosby hosts with Michael Ryan and June Goh. Growing Hormuz transits, a record 262 VLCC orders, Atlantic tonnage oversupply, softening Dubai premiums, and why Singapore VLSFO blend margins are building a bullish case into Q3.

    Chapters:

    (00:48) Atlantic freight: the tonnage trap

    Ships flooding the Atlantic from all segments as Persian Gulf flows shrink, driving wild rate swings.

    (04:47) Iran, Hormuz and US strategy

    US-Iran direct conflict resumes; Hormuz transits quietly growing as Iran's oil influence fades.

    (07:26) Demand data and inventory watch

    Indian and EU demand mixed; Cushing near its 20 million barrel floor; VLSFO stocks at zero in Fujairah.

    (12:09) Record VLCC orders: a long-term warning

    262 VLCCs on order, surpassing the 2008 peak. The bearish signal shipowners cannot ignore.

    (19:19) PG crude: trickle turns to stream

    ADNOC tenders 14 million barrels; Dubai premiums soften; China stays out of WAF and PG markets.

    (26:59) Products quickfire: distillates, gasoline, fuel oil

    Singapore regrade strengthens; VLSFO east-west collapses to $55/ton; Botany Bay gasoline arb reopens.

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    33 min
  • Episode 96: Peace deal merry-go-round continues
    Jun 4 2026

    Felipe Elink Schuurman hosts Neil Crosby and first-time guest Jay Maroo. The episode covers the stalled US-Iran peace process, Hormuz transit at 10% of pre-crisis levels, Indian and Chinese product exports collapsing, Cushing approaching its 20 million barrel floor, and why crude, distillates, and gasoline all look too cheap. Chapters:

    (01:15) Sleepwalking into the inventory crisis

    Lebanon complicates the Iran deal; Brent under $100 despite accelerating US commercial crude draws.

    (06:00) Hormuz: 10% of pre-crisis flows

    Jay Maroo: even a peace deal won't reopen flows quickly — Hormuz is a runway, not a field.

    (10:29) India, Russia, China: the supply rescue fails

    Indian exports at 4-year lows, Russian runs collapsing, Chinese product exports disappoint May expectations.

    (14:39) Distillates: gas oil rallies, heating oil spreads lag

    Kuwait airport attack lifts sentiment; heating oil spreads haven't followed — and may still be the trade.

    (20:28) Crude: Cushing at 22 million barrels

    Commercial draws hit 1 mbd last week; physical diffs in Europe cooling from unexpected crude inflows.

    (26:57) Gasoline: at five-year mean, everything looks cheap

    ARA cheapest into LatAm; demand destruction estimates rising to 5-6 mbd globally.

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    38 min
  • Episode 95: Risk-off and short-term solvers, but it won't last.
    May 28 2026

    Neil Crosby and June Goh cut through the noise on US-Iran deal speculation, unpacking why flat price is off, what 7 million bpd of Chinese crude imports means for diesel east-west dynamics, and why Sing FOGO holds up when bunker demand proves more inelastic than diesel.

    00:00 – Hormuz risk and deal pricing Why the market is pricing an imminent deal, and why the evidence points the other way.

    03:03 – China's crude import collapse May imports potentially at 7 million bpd — what that means for Asian balances and global supply.

    09:32 – Dubai window and physical crude Dubai in the doldrums with almost no convergences; sellers stuck with cargo bought at higher levels.

    09:53 – WTI, TI-Brent, and US market tightening Commercial draws accelerating, WCS diffs rising, MEH diff tightening — why TI-Brent could move further.

    12:16 – Gasoline: RBOB, TA spreads, and Latam Summer arb mechanics, TC2 tonnage overhang, and the ARA vs Houston competitive dynamic.

    17:09 – Distillates, east-west, and fuel oil China's crude release reshapes diesel E/W; Sing FOGO positive bias as bunker demand holds more inelastic than diesel.

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    28 min
  • Episode 94: The largest stock draw in history. Oil barely moved.
    May 21 2026

    Felipe Elink Schuurman, June Goh, and new analyst Abhishek Kumar cover a record 19.5mb stock draw that barely moved prices, the Russia OFAC waiver with no new barrels, India's supply strategy, Asia's group buying trend, and trade views across distillates, jet, fuel oil, and gasoline.

    Chapters:

    (01:02) Trump backs down and vessels start moving June on the Iran strike cancellation, ICE Brent's fall, and the first VLCCs exiting the Strait.

    (02:35) Record 19.5mb stock draw. The market barely reacted. June on the historic combined crude and product draw and why flat price still fell to $105/bbl.

    (07:35) Russia waivers and UK exemptions: what they actually mean The OFAC extension adds no new barrels. The UK diesel/jet waiver is a sign of desperation, not relief.

    (12:45 ) India in focus: supply strategy, Russia dependency, and SPR plans Abhishek on India's pump price hike, Modi's demand appeals, and long-term moves to expand strategic reserves.

    (19:24) Physical crude: Asia over-supplied for August June on the prompt overhang, Brent backwardation at $4.50/bbl, and why WAF grades remain undervalued.

    (23:17) Distillates, jet, and gasoline: trade views Abhishek's case for July ICE gas oil cracks, bearish NWE jet, and June on Singapore 92 near 5-year highs.

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    37 min