Over the last 7 to 10 days, approximately 12 million bpd of crude and 2 million bpd of refined products have crossed the Strait of Hormuz. Hardy noted that 10 to 14 million bpd must continue leaving the region to avoid further inventory drain in the West, where reserves are depleted following the war with Iran. While the G7 and its partners released 100 million barrels of emergency reserves on Friday to lower diesel costs, Hardy described the details of that operation as not fully transparent.
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
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Vitol Warns Shipping Crisis Threatens $200 a Barrel Oil
Commodities14 days ago
The global supply of petroleum has entered a new phase where the scarcity of tankers creates a primary bottleneck despite stable volumes exiting the Middle East, Vitol CEO Russell Hardy stated at the Energy Intelligence Forum in London on Tuesday. Hardy identified this as the third stage of an overlapping crisis that began with crude oil and progressed to refined products. He warned that because the world has exhausted its stockpile buffers, any disruption to the currently flowing 14 million bpd from the region could push benchmark crude prices to $200 a barrel.
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