Oil Holds Near $110 After Trump Delays Iran Strike

Tom Kool

Tue, May 19, 2026 at 11:18 AM EDT 6 min read

Oil prices steadied near $110 as Trump delayed planned action against Iran and Washington extended waivers for buyers of Russian crude.

Historic SPR Drawdowns Propel US Crude to Global Markets

- Record US SPR volumes are pushing out record volumes of US crude to the export markets, with May US oil exports potentially surpassing the 5.5 million b/d threshold for the first time in history.

- A record 9.9 million barrels were drawn from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve last week, lowering the total inventories held in US SPR sites to just 374 million barrels, its lowest since July 2024.

- Roughly 60% of released SPRs ends up in the domestic downstream market, with the rest exported abroad – European buyers have been particularly keen to purchase niche grades such as Bryan Mound Sour.

- The pace of SPR drawdowns seen last week marks an all-time high, with more than 1.4 million b/d of strategic stocks supplied into the market, above Biden’s average rate of 1 million b/d.

- An expedited drawdown of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is likely to damage the salt caverns where SPR barrels are held, making them susceptible to salt falls and cavern deformation. 

Market Movers

- US oil major ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) has signed a 30-year long-term natural gas supply deal for the planned $40 billion Alaska LNG project with developer Glenfarne, bringing a potential FID on the 20 mtpa liquefaction plant closer.

- The proposed 14 mtpa LNG Canada Phase 2 project is aiming for a final investment decision by end-2026, boosting the LNG portfolio of UK-based energy major Shell (LON:SHEL) and its partners Petronas, Mitsubishi, PetroChina and Kogas.

- Japan’s leading upstream investor INPEX (TYO:1605) has agreed to acquire CNPC’s 10.67% stake in Australia’s Browse project, boosting its natural gas portfolio with the Brecknock, Calliance and Torosa offshore gas fields.

- Norway’s state oil firm Equinor (NYSE:EQNR) is reportedly finalizing offtake deals for its South West Arkansas (SWA) lithium project jointly developed with Canada’s Standard Lithium, aiming for an FID later this year and targeting first production in 2029.

- UK-headquartered mining giant Anglo American (LON:AAL) has agreed to divest its metallurgical coal assets in Australia to Dhilmar Ltd for up to $3.875 billion in an all-cash transaction, marking its full exit from steelmaking coal.

Tuesday, May 19, 2026

The noise around an imminent resumption of hostilities between the US and Iran has eased somewhat after US President Trump tweeted that his administration would ‘hold off’ on a planned military attack. The issuance of another 30-day waiver for buyers of Russian crude and products has also helped cap oil prices for this week, with ICE Brent trending around $110 per barrel.