*With key Gulf suppliers squeezed out by cut-price Russian crude in India and China (MEES, 4 August) they are grabbing record market share in Japan. Q2 saw Gulf suppliers take a quarterly record 96.5% market share, with last quarter also seeing a record Opec market share of 89.6% (see chart). Not surprisingly maintaining good relations with the country’s key Gulf suppliers forms an important element of Japanese diplomacy (MEES, 21 July).