Replenishing crude and fuel stocks could take two years, Saudi Aramco CEO says
USO•Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said refilling global crude and fuel inventories could take up to two years. He estimated that restoring inventories would add 2 million barrels per day of demand over the next 18 months.
1. Stockpile replenishment
Nasser said global crude and refined-fuel pressure could intensify until the Strait of Hormuz fully reopens and confidence returns. Almost 3 billion barrels of oil supply have been lost since the Iran conflict began, he said, while 1 billion barrels have been released from global stocks.
2. Demand and capacity
Refilling inventories would add 2 million barrels per day of demand over the next 18 months, Nasser said. He said Saudi Arabia’s maximum sustainable production capacity of 12 million barrels per day could be made available within days. Of roughly 6 billion barrels remaining in storage, he said, up to 90% is in pipelines or needed for tanks to operate.
3. Alternative export routes
Aramco is studying additional crude export routes and more overseas storage, Nasser said. Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline moves oil to Red Sea terminals, and he said Aramco was working on “fourth and fifth” export routes.
