Oil production cuts across major Middle Eastern producers are deepening as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains severely disrupted, trimming roughly 6% from global oil supply, according to a report by Bloomberg News.
Four of the region’s largest producers, including Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwait have collectively reduced output by as much as 6.7 million barrels per day, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The , one of the world’s most critical oil transit routes, remains near a standstill amid the escalating Gulf conflict, forcing major exporters to curb production due to limited export capacity.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest crude exporter, has lowered output by between 2 million and 2.5 million barrels per day, Bloomberg News reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
The United Arab Emirates has cut its production by between 500,000 and 800,000 barrels per day, while Kuwait has reduced output by about 500,000 barrels per day, according to the report.
Iraq has made the steepest reduction, lowering production by roughly 2.9 million barrels per day, Bloomberg News said, citing sources familiar with the situation.
The cuts highlight the on global energy flows as tensions around the Strait of Hormuz intensify. The narrow waterway connects the Persian Gulf with international shipping lanes and is a vital corridor for oil exports from the Middle East.
Disruptions to tanker traffic through the strait have rattled global oil markets as the route normally carries a significant share of the world’s crude exports from Gulf producers.
With limited alternative routes available to move such large volumes of crude, producers in the region have been forced to scale back output while the shipping bottleneck persists.
Analysts say sustained production cuts at this scale could tighten global oil supplies and increase volatility in crude prices, particularly if disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz continue for an extended period.