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Iran attacks US vessel off Oman coast, Salalah port hit
Iran attacks US vessel off Oman coast, Salalah port hit
Dubai, 28 March (Argus) — Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Saturday it had targeted a US military vessel off the Omani coast, while Omani authorities reported that two drones struck Salalah port earlier in the day. The incidents add pressure on Oman, a key regional mediator between Washington and Tehran. The targeted vessel was "at a considerable distance from the port of Salalah in Oman", Ebrahim Zolfaqari, spokesperson for Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Military Headquarters, said, according to IRGC-linked Tasnim news agency. "The national sovereignty of the brotherly and friendly country of Oman is respected by the Islamic Republic of Iran," the statement said. It was not immediately clear whether the vessel attack and the strike on Salalah port were connected. Omani authorities said the Salalah drone attack injured an expatriate worker and caused limited damage to one of the port's cranes. Danish shipping firm Maersk said it has temporarily suspended operations at Salalah for 48 hours, adding that its crew were safe and no vessels or cargo were affected. German shipping firm Hapag-Lloyd also said port operations had been temporarily suspended and that authorities were assessing the situation. The company has moved its vessel Lisbon Express out of Salalah as a precaution. The attacks raise fresh concerns over the safety of Oman's ports, which had been viewed as alternatives for cargoes seeking to avoid the strait of Hormuz. Salalah, located outside the strait at Oman's southeastern tip, was also hit on 11 March, when several drones damaged storage tanks and triggered a fire. Other Omani ports, including Duqm and Sohar, have come under attack in recent weeks. Oman — which mediated US-Iran talks last month and in June 2025 — had initially seen fewer attacks than its Mideast Gulf neighbours after the US-Iran war began on 28 February. But the recent strikes indicate it is becoming increasingly difficult for the sultanate to remain insulated from the conflict. In today's other developments, Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis said they launched missiles at Israel , while Kuwait International Airport was struck again in a separate drone attack. By Rithika Krishna Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Kuwait airport hit again in drone attack
Kuwait airport hit again in drone attack
Dubai, 28 March (Argus) — Several drones struck Kuwait International Airport on Saturday, causing "significant" damage to its radar system, authorities said, in the latest attack on a facility repeatedly targeted since the start of the US-Israel war with Iran. No casualties were reported. Authorities said the extent of disruption to airport operations was not yet clear. Kuwait's airspace has faced repeated missile and drone threats during the conflict, prompting temporary closures, reduced flight operations, and persistent delays and cancellations. Saturday's strike came after a drone attack on the airport's fuel depot on 25 March that triggered a fire at the site. Two fuel storage tanks were also targeted on 8 March. The first attack on the airport occurred on 1 March, when Terminal One was struck during a broader wave of drone incidents across Mideast Gulf airports, leaving nine people injured. The repeated attacks come as airspace restrictions across several Mideast Gulf states continue to disrupt one of the world's busiest aviation corridors — a pattern that is likely to weigh on local jet fuel demand. By Rithika Krishna Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Houthis attack Israel; no Red Sea diversions yet
Houthis attack Israel; no Red Sea diversions yet
London, 28 March (Argus) — Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militants launched missiles at Israel on Saturday, in their first attack since the war in the Mideast Gulf began. The group said its "first military operation" targeted sensitive Israeli military sites using "a barrage of ballistic missiles". Earlier, Israel's Defence Forces confirmed "the launch of a missile from Yemen towards Israel", saying its air defence systems "intercepted the threat". The Houthis warned on Friday that they would enter the conflict if the US or Israel expanded alliances against Iran, used the Red Sea for hostile operations, or continued escalation against Iran and its regional allies. The strike raises the risk of a new front in and around the Red Sea. No attacks on merchant vessels or new diversions in the area have been reported today. But the group has previously shown its ability to disrupt trade: from November 2023 to October 2025, its campaign against commercial vessels in the Red Sea cut Suez Canal traffic as shipowners rerouted around the Cape of Good Hope, increasing freight and insurance costs. Mohammed al-Basha — founder of a consultancy specialising in Middle East risk analysis — said today's strike was intended as a signal rather than a step into full-scale war, allowing the Houthis to act militarily without being drawn into a wider fight with the US or Saudi Arabia. "By striking Israel, they are telling people in Yemen, their partners in the Iran-backed network, and supporters abroad that their priority has not changed. Their direction stays fixed on Israel first," he said. Al-Basha said the group's next moves are more likely to target commercial shipping than US naval vessels. "Disrupting traffic in the Red Sea, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the Gulf of Aden, and the Arabian Sea creates pressure without crossing a line that could trigger a direct US response. After that, the scope could widen to include Gulf states. For now, the hope is that this remains a signal rather than the start of a broader escalation." By Andrey Telegin Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US mandates record-high biofuel use: Update 2
US mandates record-high biofuel use: Update 2
Updates with details from final regulatory text New York, 27 March (Argus) — The US will require record-high biofuel use over the next two years, boosting soybean farmers and alternative diesel producers at the expense of oil refiners that warned of higher pump prices. Oil refiners will have to bring billions more gallons of biodiesel and renewable diesel to market in 2026 and 2027, according to new blend requirements released by President Donald Trump's administration Friday. The mandates for biomass-based diesel this year alone are more than 60pc above targets in the category last year, the biggest annual step change in program history. The requirements come as Trump and Republicans in Congress see more support for biofuels as one way to help farmers hurt by trade wars and rising input costs. They also come at the same time as war in the Middle East has pushed up the cost of oil products, raising interest in alternatives like biofuels. Requiring "the highest volumes of renewable fuels in history" will create rural jobs and "massively increase our nation's energy supply", Trump said at a White House event. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires oil refiners and importers to annually blend different types of biofuels or buy Renewable Identification Number (RIN) credits from those that do. Traders expecting high quotas had already boosted the price of RINs — and key renewable diesel inputs like soybean oil — to multiyear highs this week. Friday's final rule includes a record-high mandate of 26.81bn RINs from total renewable fuel blending in 2026 and 27.02bn RINs in 2027, though fewer RINs per gallon next year for some fuels mean those future requirements are even more ambitious than they first appear. EPA sets total blend requirements and requires that a portion come from lower-carbon "advanced" biofuel types including biomass-based diesel. A gallon of corn ethanol generates one RIN, while more energy-dense fuels like renewable diesel earn more. Other updates show the Trump administration siding clearly with farmers over refiners. Larger oil companies, for instance, will have to blend more biofuels to offset the demand hit from recently generous program exemptions for some small refining rivals. Spread over the next two years, the added mandate of more than 2bn RINs equals around 70pc of biofuel volumes expected to be exempted from 2023-2025 blend quotas, higher than other options EPA considered. The administration did punt an earlier plan to penalize imports, which would have been one of the most substantial and legally contested reforms in program history. While the final rule includes few more details, EPA expects to implement some version of that provision — which could mean foreign biofuels and feedstocks receive half the RINs as domestic product — starting in 2028. Farm groups have pushed regulators to do more to restrict inputs that compete with US crops, including recycled cooking oil that major renewable diesel plants bring in from countries like China. Refiners had lobbied the administration this month to shift course, warning that higher mandates would spill into retail fuel prices already rising because of war in the Middle East. With affordability concerns top of mind for voters ahead of this year's midterm elections, the possibility of higher food and fuel prices presents political risk for Republicans. "It's baffling, with fuel prices already rising due to the conflict in Iran, that EPA is finalizing a rule that will make things far worse for consumers", said Chet Thompson, president of the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, a group usually on board with Trump's energy policy. The mandates are certain to draw legal challenges, potentially from refiners or environmental groups. But as courts debate the details, the quotas are likely to support continued growth in not just US biofuel production but feedstock processing as well. Crop trading giants like Bunge and Cargill have invested heavily in new soybean and canola crush facilities, hoping to supply more vegetable oils to biofuel plants. Biomass-based diesel wins more than other fuels While the mandates will also support production margins for other biofuels, domestic demand for corn ethanol — the most widely used biofuel in the US — depends more on Congress. Lawmakers have struggled for months to reach a compromise on legislation that would permanently exempt a higher-ethanol gasoline blend from smog rules that currently limit summertime sales. Trump said Friday he was trusting legislative leaders to soon reach a deal. Gasoline stations can continue supplying fuel with up to 15pc ethanol this summer, more than the typical 10pc blend, because of temporary emergency regulations that the Trump administration started issuing this week. But so-called "E15" is still not sold at most US retail outlets. Renewable diesel production capacity in the US, already at record highs and growing, has boomed in part because the biofuel has fewer blend limits. By Cole Martin Final renewable volume obligations bn RINs 2025 2026 2027 Cellulosic biofuel 1.21 1.36 1.43 Biomass-based diesel 5.36* 9.07 9.20 Advanced biofuel 7.33 11.10 11.32 Total renewable fuel 22.33 26.81 27.02 *2025 biomass-based diesel mandate set in gallons, converted here to RINs Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.