Kpler data show average crude transits through the Strait of Hormuz were 10.3
mln bpd over the past seven days, about 76% of the pre-war baseline. Refined
product flows (gasoline and diesel) totaled only 1.3 mln bpd, roughly 11% of
shipments versus >20% pre-war, signalling sustained diesel tightness. Sources
say U.S. oil industry executives have urged the U.S. Navy to prioritise
escorting product tankers carrying diesel over crude tankers because crude
prices are roughly half those of diesel. So far most U.S.-escorted vessels have
been VLCCs (~2 mln-barrel capacity), about double the capacity of the largest
product tankers.
