The head of Saudi state-owned oil producer said that the oil buffer stocks used to withstand global supply shocks are already “shockingly low,” and if navigation cannot be resumed in the Strait of Hormuz, the market situation may deteriorate further. Just a few days before this statement, the governments of the world's major economies announced plans to release up to 100 million barrels of oil and diesel emergency reserves to ease the upward pressure on fuel prices. Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said at the London Energy Intelligence Forum on Monday: “Until the Strait of Hormuz completely resumes traffic and market confidence returns, the harsh reality is that the pressure upstream and downstream of the crude oil industry chain will increase. The tight supply of crude oil is certainly serious, but the price increase of refined oil products is even more intense.” Nasser said that releasing reserves can only buy buffer time for various economies and cannot resolve the imbalance between supply and demand. He said that even if the main shipping route in Hormuz were to resume navigation, it would probably take up to two years for energy consuming countries to refill their inventories.

The head of Saudi state-owned oil producer said that the oil buffer stocks used to withstand global supply shocks are already “shockingly low,” and if navigation cannot be resumed in the Strait of Hormuz, the market situation may deteriorate further. Just a few days before this statement, the governments of the world's major economies announced plans to release up to 100 million barrels of oil and diesel emergency reserves to ease the upward pressure on fuel prices. Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said at the London Energy Intelligence Forum on Monday: “Until the Strait of Hormuz completely resumes traffic and market confidence returns, the harsh reality is that the pressure upstream and downstream of the crude oil industry chain will increase. The tight supply of crude oil is certainly serious, but the price increase of refined oil products is even more intense.” Nasser said that releasing reserves can only buy buffer time for various economies and cannot resolve the imbalance between supply and demand. He said that even if the main shipping route in Hormuz were to resume navigation, it would probably take up to two years for energy consuming countries to refill their inventories.