ADNOC CEO Sultan Al Jaber said nearly 1 bln barrels of global crude inventories
have been drawn down since US and Israel opened hostilities with Iran, which
disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. He warned diesel stocks in
parts of the world are at their weakest in 35 years and some regions face
roughly a 600 bcf LNG supply gap, with diesel prices in many markets at record
highs, adding inflationary and cost-of-living pressure. Al Jaber called for
expanded strategic reserves, higher refined-product inventories and flexible
refining capacity closer to consumption supported by upgraded logistics, saying
infrastructure must be built before demand rises. He added shipping and
logistics costs have risen from about 5% of a barrel’s total cost pre-conflict
to roughly 30%. ARAMCO’s CEO said last month global commercial stocks remain
below 6 bln barrels and are largely not deployable.
