US-Israeli war on Iran depleted global oil stocks: CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company

The CEO of the UAE’s firm Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has warned that the world's oil safety cushion is running out, as nearly one billion oil barrels have been drained from global inventories since the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran.

US-Israeli war on Iran depleted global oil stocks: CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company
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Speaking at the UAE's ADIPEC conference on Monday, Sultan Al Jaber said middle distillate reserves have faced unprecedented depletion.

According to his remarks, diesel stockpiles in some regions have dropped to 35-year lows for this time of year, while others face an LNG supply shortfall of 600 billion cubic feet.

He added that the cost of shipping and logistics has jumped from 5% before the war to 30% of the cost of a barrel.

Amid the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the ensuing supply disruptions, prices of diesel in many markets have hit record highs.

The rising oil prices pose inflation and cost-of-living ​threats to governments and consumers.

"We need expanded strategic storage, larger stockpiles of products, and flexible refining capacity closer to consumer markets," Al Jaber said.

"Infrastructure ​must be built before it is needed and enabled ​by advanced logistics," he added.

Brent crude, the global benchmark, is trading around $110 a barrel, up about 50% compared with February just before the war began.

Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser also warned in October that less than 6 billion barrels of commercial oil inventories remained, most of them not ​practically available.

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In an attempt to curb increasing prices, the International Energy Agency agreed to release over 20 million barrels of diesel last month, along with any oil left from its record March emergency reserves release.

With the possibility of renewed aggression against Iran, few analysts expect prices to return to normal soon.

“When could prices return to $70? Not soon,” Isabel Figuerola-Ferretti, an expert in oil markets at Comillas Pontifical University in Madrid, Spain, told al-Jazeera, adding, “It would need durable de-escalation, a return to normal transit and shipping conditions through Hormuz, rebuilt inventories and freight costs back to normal.”

Pavel Molchanov, an investment strategist at Raymond James & Associates, said he did not believe supply could realistically exceed 85 percent of pre-war levels without a permanent diplomatic solution to the war.

Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz in response to the latest round of US-Israeli aggression, blocking US and allied vessels from navigating the strategic waterway.

The closure sent shockwaves through global energy markets, driving up oil and fuel prices, particularly in the US, and forcing Washington and the International Energy Agency (IEA) to release strategic reserves on several occasions in an effort to ease the supply crunch.

Following the signing of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Iran and the US in June, Tehran reopened the Strait of Hormuz, but Iran’s Armed Forces shut the maritime corridor again after Washington violated the agreement by imposing a blockade on Iranian ports.

 

Source: Press TV
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