The world has lost about 1 billion barrels of oil over the past two months and energy
markets will take time to stabilise even if flows resume, Saudi
Aramco’s CEO said on Sunday, as shipping disruptions choke
traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
“Our objective is simple: keep energy flowing, even when the
system is under strain,” Amin Nasser told Reuters in a statement
after Aramco reported a 25% jump in net profit in its
first-quarter.
Global energy supplies have been sharply squeezed by Iran’s
blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which has curtailed shipping
and driven prices higher following the U.S.-Israeli war.
“Reopening routes is not the same as normalizing a market
that has been deprived of about one billion barrels of oil,”
Nasser said, adding that years of underinvestment have
compounded the strain on already-low global inventories.
Aramco has used its East-West Pipeline to bypass Hormuz and
transport crude to the Red Sea, an asset Nasser described as a
“critical lifeline” to mitigate the global supply crisis.
Despite shifts in shipping routes, Nasser reiterated that
Asia remained a key priority for the company and was central to
global demand.