Saudi Aramco Chief Executive Amin Nasser warned that global oil inventories could take as long as two years to rebuild, even after flows through the Strait of Hormuz normalize. Speaking at the Energy Intelligence Forum in London, Nasser noted the world entered the crisis with nearly 10 billion barrels of oil stocks. Gross oil supply lost nearly 3 billion barrels, or roughly half the crude and refined products that normally move through Hormuz.
Emergency reserves won't resolve longer-term supply constraints, he said, as estimates show less than 6 billion barrels of commercial inventories remain—and most isn't practically available. Over one billion barrels have been drawn from stocks to offset shortfalls, leaving the global supply cushion scarily thin. The Group of Seven recently agreed to a coordinated release of 100 million barrels over four months.
Source: Wall Street Journal US Business · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing