Middle East Oil Exports Baffle Experts Amid Wright's 'Rebound' Claim
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright claims that oil exports from the Middle East have rebounded to 15 million barrels per day (bpd), even exceeding pre-war averages of 20 million bpd on Sunday.
Vessel-tracking services and commodity analysts are puzzled by this assertion, as ship-tracking data shows oil flows out of the Strait of Hormuz at best half that volume. The disparity between Wright's claim and tanker-monitoring data is estimated to be around 3-5 million bpd.
Matt Smith, director of commodity research at Kpler, stated that 'it is not possible to reconcile the disparity between what we see and what he is quoting.'