Amin Nasser said the Middle East conflict has sharply depleted global oil stocks. Even after flows through the Strait of Hormuz normalize, replenishing them could take as long as two years.
Saudi Aramco chief executive Amin Nasser said it could take up to two years to rebuild global oil inventories after they were sharply depleted by the conflict in the Middle East. He was speaking on Monday at the Energy Intelligence Forum in London.
Nasser said the crisis began with nearly 10 billion barrels in global stocks. Gross crude supply has since lost almost 3 billion barrels, equivalent to about half the volume of crude oil and refined products that would normally pass through the Strait of Hormuz over the same period. More than 1 billion barrels have been drawn from inventories to offset shortages.
Commercial stocks are estimated at less than 6 billion barrels, and much of that supply is not practically available. Nasser described the remaining cushion in global supply as “alarmingly low”. Emergency reserves can provide temporary relief, he said, but will not resolve longer-term supply constraints.
Aramco is studying additional crude-export routes and more overseas storage capacity to help manage short-term disruptions. Nasser said replenishing depleted stocks could take up to two years even after traffic through Hormuz returns to normal.