Oil prices fall, Brent slides to $103 per barrel, WTI at $100
Strategic workarounds, infrastructure recovery temper market anxiety over conflict
Crude oil prices extended their decline on Friday (September 18, 2026), building on a two-day losing streak as immediate Middle East supply anxieties eased.
Oil prices
As of Friday morning in Tokyo (9.25am):
Brent: about $103.7 a barrel
WTI: about $100.9
Murban: about $121, down 1.95%
Oil had approached $110 earlier in the week.
The pull-back in global energy markets is driven by strategic logistical workarounds and infrastructural recovery, cushioning a market heavily pressured by the ongoing US–Iran conflict.
Supply panic cooled significantly after reports revealed that Saudi Arabia has begun offering additional crude cargoes to Asian refiners via ship-to-ship transfers outside the Gulf, near Oman’s Sohar port.
Saudi pipeline repairs underway
Anxiety over the attack that disabled Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline has eased after indications that repairs are progressing.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the disruption was expected to last “days”, rather than representing a prolonged shutdown.
The pipeline carries crude from Saudi Arabia’s eastern oil-producing region to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, providing an alternative route that reduces dependence on the Strait of Hormuz.
Reports of repairs helped calm oil markets and contributed to a relief rally on Wall Street.
The wider energy picture, however, remains fragile.
Commercial traffic through Hormuz is still heavily disrupted, while alternative shipping arrangements are being used to keep Gulf crude moving.
Ship-to-ship transfers
Saudi Arabia is seeking alternative ways to keep crude flowing to Asian buyers after its East-West pipeline to the Red Sea port of Yanbu was attacked.
Saudi Aramco has offered additional Arab Medium and Arab Heavy crude cargoes for loading near Oman’s Sohar port, with ship-to-ship transfers allowing cargoes to be moved from vessels that have navigated the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz to other tankers for onward delivery.
Reuters reported that Aramco has made at least two similar offers in recent weeks. The arrangement does not completely avoid Hormuz.
The crude still has to reach the transfer area, and analysts say some Gulf producers are using tankers, including vessels operating with tracking systems switched off, to move cargo through the waterway.
The strategy is designed to reduce the disruption and logistical risk involved in getting Gulf crude to Asian customers.
