Jack Wittels

Shipowners are increasingly optimistic about a pickup in traffic through the Strait of Hormuz after more vessels left the waterway this week with the U.S. providing information to aid those making the journey.

(Bloomberg) -- Shipowners are increasingly optimistic about a pickup in traffic through the Strait of Hormuz after more vessels left the waterway this week with the US providing information to aid those making the journey.

The US affirmed that deals with Iran to safely sail through the Strait of Hormuz — even those which don't involve paying a toll — aren't allowed, as the conflict between the two nations grinds on.

Ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is beginning to recover as U.S. military officials provide navigation guidance to commercial vessels, offering cautious optimism for oil and LNG flows despite continuing security concerns in the region.

The United Arab Emirates is considering building an additional pipeline for refined products that would bypass the Strait of Hormuz and carry fuels to the country’s east coast.

Kuwait will consider increasing oil storage abroad to boost its ability to supply global markets after the war in the Persian Gulf blocked flows through the Strait of Hormuz, according to the head of the state energy company’s marketing arm.

But, with oil refiners in the U.S. and elsewhere responding by skewing their output toward those two fuels, they inevitably produce less of other petroleum products, including gasoline.

Gasoline could be the next petroleum product to come under intense supply pressure as the Iran war rumbles on, according to oil trading giant Vitol Group.

Aliko Dangote has started work to double capacity at his huge oil refinery in Nigeria, which when finished will rival the world’s largest site and give Africa’s richest person a stronger grip of global fuel supply chains.

Europe’s imports of diesel and jet fuel stagnated for a second month in May, piling pressure on regional energy supplies as the Iran war grinds on.