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 re

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.