Symbolic imageAramco warns oil stocks are 'scarily thin' as Gulf exports recover
Saudi Aramco's chief said on Monday that rebuilding depleted oil inventories could take up to two years. Gulf exports recovered in September.
Amin Nasser, Aramco's chief executive, said at the Energy Intelligence Forum in London on Monday, 5 October, that the war has cut nearly 3bn barrels of regional supply since it began in late February, while more than 1bn barrels were drawn from reserves. He put remaining commercial inventories at under 6bn barrels, most of them not practically available. Even after the conflict, replenishing stocks while meeting demand could take up to two years, he said. Aramco is studying additional export routes and overseas storage.
Exports recover at a price
Gulf shipments reached 15.5mn barrels a day in September, the highest since the war began and over 80 per cent of the pre-conflict volume, according to Kpler. The FT reports the shipments were very expensive and physical North Sea cargo prices hit their highest since April. WSJ headlines say Saudi Arabia cut Asian crude prices and resumed Red Sea exports.
Reserve releases
The G7 agreed on Friday, 2 October, to release 100mn barrels of diesel and crude. Nasser said most stock already deployed came from company reserves, the "last major tool in the box".
Food crisis warning
The WSJ reports that the head of the International Chamber of Commerce warns Hormuz gridlock risks a global food crisis.