Peace Prospects Drive Down Oil Prices, U.S. Refinery Issues Linger

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Written by Daniel Graeber for IIR News Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)

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Summary

Brent crude oil was moving further away from $80 per barrel as peace talks continue in the Middle East. The U.S. market, however, was beset by a string of refinery issues.

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Markets Optimistic During Ongoing Talks

Global crude oil prices continued their retreat amid progress on peace talks over the conflict in the Middle East, while refinery issues in the United States surfaced to add some market pressure on Monday. According to Industrial Info Resources data, there are 779 active planned refinery maintenance projects across the U.S., worth more than $8 billion.

IIR Energy's Breaking Energy News (BEN) reported Monday that a division of Saudi Aramco has delayed the restart of parts of its Al Jubail refinery. Two hydrocracker units incurred a missile strike in April and the restart is delayed now one month to September. The Industrial Info Resources Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Petroleum Refining plant database offers a detailed profile of the refinery.

In its weekly report on crude oil inventories and refineries, IIR Energy also found that outages in the Middle East triggered by recent conflict were actually fading. Unplanned outages during the seven-day period ending June 12 knocked around 2.49 million barrels per day (bpd) offline, compared to 2.57 million bpd during the seven-day period ending June 5.

Negotiations between Iran and the United States have been difficult, however, with Israeli attacks on Lebanon an ongoing source of tension. U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Monday said a "foundation" was established, though both sides have already backed a 14-point memorandum of understanding on a ceasefire.

Ongoing threats of a resumption of the military campaign from U.S. President Donald Trump were nevertheless met with frustration from the Iranian side. Iran had said the Strait of Hormuz was closed to over ongoing hostilities in Lebanon, though some vessels had already made it through the crucial waterway. For more on that, see June 15, 2026, article - India LNG Tanker Makes it Through Strait of Hormuz.

Brent crude oil, the global benchmark for the price of oil, continued its retreat from $80 per barrel on Monday to trade near $78 per barrel. It had traded as high as $115, though markets aren't out of the woods given the drain on emergency stockpiles.

U.S. Refineries Having Issues

In the U.S., the national average retail price of $3.92 per gallon of gasoline was reported Monday by AAA amid some issues in the U.S. refining sector. A fire broke out at a power plant for the Galveston Bay refinery in Texas on Sunday, though operator Marathon Petroleum reported no throughput issues at the 550,000-bpd facility. A brief shelter-in-place order was enacted during the weekend, but it has since been lifted.

Also, Industrial Info is monitoring a separate issue at the century-old Whiting Refinery in Indiana. Throughput at the 430,000-bpd facility, operated by BP PLC, was curtailed due to undisclosed issues, though it was expected to be back online relatively soon.

Monroe Energy, meanwhile, was forced to shut down several units at its 208,000-bpd Trainer refinery in Pennsylvania due to a leak last week, limiting the availability of refined petroleum products even further. On the plus side, TotalEnergies restored power to its 190,000-bpd Port Arthur refinery in Texas after a lightning strike on Friday and it could be back online before the weekend.

Last week also marked the tenth consecutive week for drawdowns of U.S. commercial crude oil stockpiles and the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is halfway depleted, leaving supply-side buffers scarce. Data to be released on Wednesday will determine of those trends continued.

Key Takeaways

• From Whiting to Port Arthur, problems arise for U.S. refiners.
• At $78 per barrel, Brent crude seems like a relative bargain.

About Industrial Info Resources
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, Industrial Info Resources is tracking over 250,000 current and future projects worth $30.2 Trillion (USD).