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How oil majors’ trading desks came out ahead of the Hormuz shock
Warships as a buy signal | A strait with an expiry date | Maersk’s return ticket to Suez
Thursday, 22 October 2026
Good morning, friends.
That’s a wrap on the week, and we’re saving a surprise for Monday. Our big story looks at how oil majors’ trading desks came out ahead of the Hormuz shock, starting with TotalEnergies’ traders reading US warships as a buy signal. Plus: HSBC’s CEO thinks Hormuz could become redundant within five years, Maersk wants all its services back through Suez by March 2027, and Nakilat and GWC report 3Q results.
Today at a glance
Transportation
Rail
Egypt expands Balkans trade gateway as Arab-Balkans Corridor launches
The Arab-Balkans Corridor went live on 29 September, formalizing a…
Ports
Morocco lets OCP move its phosphate logistics into separate companies that can bring in investment funds
The carve-out lands as OCP courts outside equity for its…
Aviation
Fuel costs are making Gulf airlines rethink how long to keep older jets flying
With new jets still years late, Qatar is retiring, Emirates…
Storage + Warehouses
Egypt is preparing four more strategic warehouses for private-sector PPPs as its first three near full operation
The first batch cost more than twice what the state…
Projects
Business
Explainers
Inside the split between oil on paper and oil in hand
The war exposed the gap between futures prices and physical…
East Port Said, Tanger ports face a new challenge with Europe’s carbon rules for shipping — but green bunkering can help
To prevent losing volumes to non-EU transhipment hubs and evasive rerouting, the EU set up a list of high-risk neighboring container transhipment…
