# Beacon brief: Monday, October 19, 2026

> President Trump signed an order on October 16 waiving the Graham Act's new Russia sanctions and its tariffs of up to 100 percent on the largest buyers of Russian oil and gas, two days before they were due to apply, with no fixed expiry. On October 18 Ukrainian drones set the Petersburg Oil Terminal, a Baltic fuel export outlet handling about 12.5 million tons a year, on fire in an attack Russia said involved 1,015 drones.

- Label: Fact
- Type: Brief
- Published: 2026-10-19T06:00:00+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: Regulation, Upstream and offshore, Refining
- Canonical: https://beacon.winda.ai/briefs/2026-10-19/

## investments

- President Trump signed an executive order on October 16 waiving the sanctions, restrictions and duties of the Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act after certifying to Congress that the waiver is in the national interest, per the AP. The waived measures include a 500 percent duty increase on Russian goods and 100 percent tariffs on goods from the five largest buyers of Russian crude and gas for new purchases from October 18; the waiver has no set expiry and sanctions under earlier executive orders stay in force, per LawCommentary. Time reported the waiver lets Russian oil keep flowing to importers such as China and India. On October 18 Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said US-bound Russian diesel would move mainly on Aframax tankers and arrive 15 to 20 days after contracts are signed, without naming buyers. [1][2][3][4]
  - Analysis: The tariff threat over Russian crude buyers is gone for now but can return at any time, and existing designations still bind, so terminal and charter vetting does not loosen. Watch Congress for a bill to limit the waiver and for the first diesel contracts under General License 135.

## operations

- Ukrainian drones set fire to the Petersburg Oil Terminal and the Ruchyi oil depot overnight into October 18, St Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov said, reporting one person killed and five injured in the city, per the AP and the Kyiv Independent. The terminal in the Port of St Petersburg handles about 12.5 million tons of petroleum products a year and has 32 tanks with about 442,000 cubic meters of storage, per UNITED24 Media, which reported the fire still burning at about 7:30 a.m. local time. Russia's Defense Ministry said it downed 1,015 drones over 15 regions, one of Kyiv's largest attacks of the war. Ukraine had struck the same terminal on July 4; the extent of storage damage and any effect on exports were not independently verified. [6][5][7]
  - Analysis: Days after the US waived new Russia sanctions, the pressure on Russian product exports is physical: Kyiv is striking export storage as well as refineries. Buyers of Baltic product cargoes should watch for loading delays or force majeure notices from St Petersburg.
- Two tankers were attacked inside the Gulf on October 16 off Saudi Arabia: UKMTO reported one hit by an unknown projectile about 68 nautical miles northeast of Al Jubail, with the crew evacuated, and another about 78 nautical miles northeast of Jubail hit at 1922 GMT by a rocket-propelled grenade fired from a small boat, per Arab Times. All crew were reported safe and no attacker was named. On October 17 Iran's Revolutionary Guards navy said two tankers, each carrying about 2 million barrels of crude, struck mines on a route Tehran has not authorized and caught fire, per Iran International and Al Jazeera. No vessel names or independent confirmation of the mine claims were given. [8][9][10]
  - Analysis: Small-boat RPG attacks off Jubail put the Saudi Gulf coast, not only the strait, inside the threat area for loading tankers. Insurers and charterers lifting from Ras Tanura and Jubail should price that exposure separately from the Hormuz transit itself.
- Rajesh D'Silva, 42, a contract worker burned in the September 30 cold separator rupture in the coker hydrotreater at MRPL's Mangaluru refinery, died on October 17, bringing the toll to two dead among 12 people hurt, per The News Minute. MRPL has informed India's stock exchanges of a provisional financial impact of Rs 118.76 crore from the fire. The CPI(M) is demanding that the preliminary investigation report be published. No official finding on the cause has been released. [11]
  - Analysis: With two dead, the preliminary investigation report will be the first official word on why a high-pressure separator failed. Refiners running similar hydrotreater separators should watch for its findings rather than act on press accounts.

## Sources

1. [Trump puts new Russia sanctions passed by Congress on hold, saying waiver is in US national interest, AP](https://abcnews.com/US/wireStory/trump-puts-new-russia-sanctions-passed-congress-hold-137339735), 2026-10-16
2. [Trump Halts Sweeping Russia Sanctions Just Weeks After Signing Them Into Law, LawCommentary](https://www.lawcommentary.com/articles/trump-halts-russia-sanctions-congress-waiver), 2026-10-16
3. [What Trump's Waiver of New Russia Sanctions Means for Ukraine, Time](https://time.com/article/2026/10/17/what-trump-s-waiver-of-new-russia-sanctions-means-for-ukraine/), 2026-10-17
4. [Novak: Russian diesel will go to the US on Aframax tankers, www1.ru](https://www1.ru/en/news/2026/10/18/novak-rossiiskii-dizel-poidet-v-ssa-na-tankerax-aframax.html), 2026-10-18
5. [Massive Ukrainian drone attack hit oil facility, bridge, and data center in St. Petersburg, Kyiv Independent](https://kyivindependent.com/flames-explosions-reported-amid-large-ukrainian-drone-attack-on-st-petersburg/), 2026-10-18
6. [Ukraine launches more than 1,000 drones at Russia as spat between Trump and Zelenskyy continues, AP](https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/blaze-st-petersburg-oil-sites-kyiv-launches-1000-137358485), 2026-10-18
7. [Ukraine Strikes Deep Into St. Petersburg, Setting Major Russian Oil Export Terminal on Fire, UNITED24 Media](https://united24media.com/war-in-ukraine/ukraine-strikes-deep-into-st-petersburg-setting-major-russian-oil-export-terminal-on-fire-23552), 2026-10-18
8. [Second Tanker Attacked Off Saudi Arabia's Jubail in Same Area, Arab Times](https://www.arabtimesonline.com/news/second-tanker-attacked-off-saudi-arabias-jubail-in-same-area/), 2026-10-17
9. [IRGC Navy claims second supertanker hit naval mine in Strait of Hormuz, Iran International](https://www.iranintl.com/en/202610174754), 2026-10-17
10. [Iran says two tankers catch fire after hitting mines in Strait of Hormuz, Al Jazeera](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/18/iran-says-two-tankers-catch-fire-after-hitting-mines-in-strait-of-hormuz), 2026-10-18
11. [Second MRPL contract worker dies of burns suffered in September 30 fire, The News Minute](https://www.thenewsminute.com/karnataka/second-mrpl-contract-worker-dies-of-burns-suffered-in-september-30-fire), 2026-10-17

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