# Beacon brief: Tuesday, October 13, 2026

> Six commercial vessels, five of them tankers, were reported struck in and around the Strait of Hormuz on October 11, two Indian crew were missing from the product tanker Petro Dolphin, and at least 10 VLCCs bound for Fujairah stopped or turned back, per UKMTO and Bloomberg data reported by The Maritime Executive. In the US Gulf, BP began restarting Na Kika and Thunder Horse as the shut-in eased to 57.54 percent of oil output, with crews off 32 of 371 platforms.

- Label: Fact
- Type: Brief
- Published: 2026-10-13T06:00:00+09:00
- Written: 2026-10-22, as of the published date (a catch-up edition)
- By: Jun Zhong
- Researched and drafted by: Beacon's AI newsroom
- Topics: Upstream and offshore, Refining
- Canonical: https://beacon.winda.ai/briefs/2026-10-13/

## operations

- UKMTO issued four late reports of attacks in the Strait of Hormuz on October 11, bringing the day's total to six struck vessels, five of them tankers, per The Maritime Executive; the late reports gave no times, positions or names, and no attacker was confirmed. A drone struck the Nicaragua-flagged product tanker Petro Dolphin near Oman's Sohar anchorage, and two of its 11 Indian crew were still missing on October 12, per India's foreign ministry and seafarers' union via ANI; the Marshall Islands-flagged Valthera was also hit and set on fire, with its crew safe. Iranian forces had told ships at the Ras Al Khaimah anchorage by VHF on the night of October 10 to weigh anchor and relocate, and the Revolutionary Guards released unverified video of a strike on a tanker whose stern shows the name of the UAE-owned VLCC Al Maqam. Bloomberg tracking showed at least 10 VLCCs and several Suezmaxes heading for Fujairah stopped or turned back. [1][2]
  - Analysis: With a strike at the Sohar anchorage and an Iranian order to clear Ras Al Khaimah, a ship waiting off the UAE or Oman is now inside the risk zone, and Fujairah's role as the handover point for shuttled Gulf crude depends on long-haul tankers that are now holding off. Watch whether those VLCCs resume course, the identities of the unnamed vessels, and anchorage war-risk terms.
- BP said late on October 10 it was working to restart production at its Na Kika and Thunder Horse platforms and was returning non-essential personnel to Argos, Atlantis and Mad Dog, per Reuters. In an operator survey relayed by Sputnik via Bernama on October 12, Gulf of Mexico operators still had 57.54 percent of oil output, 1,173,863 b/d, and 49.11 percent of gas, 1.051 bcf/d, shut in, with crews off 32 of 371 production platforms. That is down from 68.76 percent of oil and 113 evacuated platforms in the October 10 report Beacon carried yesterday. Sputnik attributed the figures to a BSEE statement. [3][4]
  - Analysis: Crews are back on most platforms but more than half of Gulf oil was still offline, so restarts are now gated by post-storm surveys and export line checks rather than evacuation; the operator restart notices are the marker for which hubs cleared inspection. Single-source caution: the 57.54 percent figure comes from one relay of the federal survey.
- Drones struck the oil-loading terminal of the Novoshakhtinsk refinery in Rostov-on-Don on the night of October 9 to 10, starting a large fire after a series of explosions, per Ukrainska Pravda citing Astra, monitoring channels and Rostov governor Yuri Slyusar. The terminal transships petroleum products for export and has a design capacity of about 2.5 million tonnes a year, per Ukrainska Pravda and Militarnyi; Slyusar said more than 50 drones were downed and a railway bridge was damaged, halting trains in both directions. The same terminal was struck on July 9, per Militarnyi. The extent of damage to the terminal was not reported. [5][6]
  - Analysis: This was a hit on Russian product export logistics, not a refinery unit, in the last days before the refinery-only truce Trump announced on October 11; whether that truce extends to terminals is unstated. Distillate buyers counting on the 500,000 ton Russian export tranche should track Black Sea and Azov loading points, not only refinery runs.

## investments

- Eni signed two binding agreements on October 12 to sell 10 percent interests in seven Indonesian production sharing contracts operated by Searah, its 50-50 joint venture with Petronas, per Eni and Offshore Engineer. Pertamina takes Eni's 10 percent in East Sepinggan, North Ganal and Rapak, which hold the producing Merakes and East Merakes gas fields and the Geng North and Gehem discoveries feeding the North Hub project; Medco takes 10 percent in West Ganal, East Ganal, Ganal and Muara Bakau, covering the producing Jangkrik field, the South Hub projects and the Geliga discovery. Eni puts the Geng North and Geliga finds at more than 10 Tcf of gas and 650 million barrels of condensate; Searah produces about 350,000 boe/d. Terms were not disclosed and both deals need government approval. [7][8]
  - Analysis: Indonesia's national energy company and Medco buy into both Kutei Basin gas hubs after the March FIDs, which ties two domestic partners to execution of North Hub, a National Strategic Project. For contractors, watch whether the new partners change the Searah hubs' schedule or procurement once approvals land.

## Sources

1. [UKMTO Reports Six Strikes in One Day on Tankers in the Mideast, The Maritime Executive](https://maritime-executive.com/article/ukmto-reports-third-strike-in-a-day-on-a-tanker-in-the-mideast), 2026-10-12
2. [Hormuz attack: India's seafarers union seeks 'urgent update' on missing sailors, ANI](https://www.khaleejtimes.com/world/asia/hormuz-attack-mt-petro-dolphin-us-iran-war-attack-indian-sailor-missing), 2026-10-12
3. [BP working to restart production at Na Kika and Thunder Horse platforms, Reuters](https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/international/3990246-bp-working-to-restart-production-at-nakika-and-thunder-horse-platforms), 2026-10-11
4. [US Oil Production In Gulf Of Mexico Halved Due To Hurricane - BSEE, Sputnik/RIA Novosti](https://www.bernama.com/en/world/news.php?id=2619174), 2026-10-12
5. [Drones strike oil-loading terminal in Rostov, triggering major fire – videos, Ukrainska Pravda](https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2026/10/10/8057315/), 2026-10-10
6. [Ukrainian Drones Strike Oil Terminal in Rostov-on-Don, Militarnyi](https://militarnyi.com/en/news/ukraine-strike-oil-terminal-rostov-on-don/), 2026-10-10
7. [Eni signs two agreements for the sale of stakes in selected upstream assets in Indonesia, Eni](https://www.eni.com/en-IT/media/press-release/2026/10/eni-signs-two-agreements-for-the-sale-of-stakes-in-selected-upstream-assets-indonesia.html), 2026-10-12
8. [Eni Agrees Indonesian Gas Asset Sales to Pertamina and Medco, Offshore Engineer](https://www.oedigital.com/amp/news/543603-eni-agrees-indonesian-gas-asset-sales-to-pertamina-and-medco), 2026-10-12

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