Middle East oil exports drop at least 60% as Hormuz stays mostly closed, data shows

Daily oil exports from the Persian Gulf, home to top exporter Saudi Arabia and other major producers, have dropped by at least 60% in the week leading up to March 15 compared to February due to disruptions and output cuts amid the US-Iran war, according to shipping data and Reuters calculations.

The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, normally used to transport about a fifth of the world’s oil supply, has forced exporters to cancel shipments and shut production at oilfields, creating the world’s biggest ever supply disruption. Crude oil prices have surged to the highest in four years and those of some fuels to record highs.

Crude, condensate and refined fuels exports from eight Middle Eastern countries — Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates — in the week to March 15 averaged 9.71 million barrels per day, data from Kpler shows, down 61% from 25.13 million bpd in February.

Data from Vortexa shows an even more dramatic drop, with exports from the eight countries last week reaching 7.5 million bpd, down 71% from February’s 26.1 million bpd.

Prior to the war, the eight countries accounted for 36% or global seaborne oil exports of 70.43 million bpd, according to Kpler.

The actual exports could be even lower as some volumes go into floating storage but do not leave the Gulf.