UK becomes top destination for US jet fuel after Gulf flow squeeze

{"text":[[{"start":12.49,"text":"Britain has become the leading global destination for US exports of jet fuel as the aviation sector seeks to plug the gap left by the slowdown of deliveries from the Gulf since the start of the war in Iran, according to new data. "}],[{"start":28.689999999999998,"text":"A quarter of US jet fuel exports last month were for delivery to the UK, figures from the London Stock Exchange Group show. Meanwhile, US-sourced fuel is on track to account for half the UK’s imports in the first half of April, according to data group Vortexa, compared with an average of just 7 per cent in 2025."}],[{"start":52.54,"text":"The embrace of US exports marks a shift from the UK’s “historical strong reliance on jet fuel imports from the Middle East”, said Mick Strautmann of Vortexa. "}],[{"start":65.47,"text":"Global jet fuel supplies have been heavily disrupted by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, leading prices to jump and airlines across the world to warn of rationing or cancellations. "}],[{"start":78.35,"text":"While oil prices have fallen since Tuesday night’s two-week ceasefire agreement under which Tehran pledged to allow ships through the strait, executives expect jet fuel prices to take months to return to their lower levels even if hostilities do not resume. "}],[{"start":95.28,"text":"The US has been increasing exports to cater for stronger global demand and to cash in on prices that have risen faster in Europe than in America. President Donald Trump last month told allies including the UK to “go get your own oil” and to buy more jet fuel from the US."}],[{"start":116.26,"text":"Almost 500,000 tonnes were exported from the US in March, double the 240,000 tonnes recorded in February, figures from LSEG show. The UK was the largest single destination, with three shipments totalling about 115,000 tonnes, including two exported by BP. "}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":138.41,"text":"Of the 218,000 tonnes the UK is expected to import in April — a much lower level than normal because of the drop in Gulf cargoes — 151,000 tonnes are expected to come from the US, more than double the average over the preceding 10 months, according to analytics firm Kpler. "}],[{"start":160.64,"text":"Europe is stuck in a bidding war with Asia to secure jet fuel supplies, as global airlines warn that shortages could lead to cancellations during the peak summer months. "}],[{"start":173.39,"text":"Europe’s benchmark northwestern jet fuel price was $38 a barrel higher than its counterpart in the US Gulf Coast last week, according to pricing agency Argus Media. Before the conflict the two prices were just $0.50 apart."}],[{"start":191.17999999999998,"text":"The UK is particularly exposed to disruption in the strait, according to executives across the aviation and energy industries, owing to limited storage and relatively small domestic refining capacity. Jet fuel stocks could be depleted within three months if supplies from the Middle East cannot be replaced, Argus estimates."}],[{"start":213.23,"text":"Current inventories cover roughly 30 days of demand — lower than in countries such as France and Germany, where stocks exceed 50 days, according to Mohith Velamala, an analyst at BNEF. "}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":226.03,"text":"The UK held about 1mn tonnes of jet fuel stocks at the end of 2025, official data shows, part of its petroleum reserves that can be released during times of “severe disruption” to global supplies. That is down from the 1.2mn tonnes at the end of 2024 and compares with annual demand of roughly 12mn tonnes."}],[{"start":250.27,"text":"Although the UK complies with obligations requiring members of the International Energy Agency to hold the equivalent of at least 90 days of oil imports, Velamala noted that these metrics varied by product."}],[{"start":265.42,"text":"Some European countries’ reserves of oil products — including the UK’s — are stored overseas. Belgium plays a “critical role as a refined product storage hub”, including for jet fuel, he added."}],[{"start":280.36,"text":"The UK government said there was “no current disruption to jet fuel supply and shipments are continuing to arrive into the UK, with imports from a range of countries”. "}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":291.25,"text":"LSEG said it had been difficult to tell how much of the fuel individual countries had in reserve. “Jet fuel price benchmarks globally have surged since the outbreak of the war,” it added. "}],[{"start":304.65,"text":"The UK’s rising dependence on the US is a structural break from the past. The US exported about 10mn tonnes of jet fuel in 2025, roughly 500,000 tonnes of which went to the UK, while a much larger proportion went to Central and South America, according to the Energy Information Administration. "}],[{"start":325.39,"text":"The UK gets about 6mn tonnes a year from the Middle East, while Europe also imports millions of tonnes from the region. "}],[{"start":333.93,"text":"Even though shipments are expected to increase during the coming months, US cargoes “will probably not replace Middle Eastern supply”, said Amaar Khan of Argus. Vortexa estimates that increased US exports will only make up about half of the UK’s lost Middle Eastern jet fuel."}],[{"start":362.82,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1775726828_1876.mp3"}