Middle East Oil Exports Claim Sparks Discrepancy Among Analysts

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright recently claimed that oil exports from the Middle East have rebounded to 15 million barrels per day (bpd), even surpassing pre-war averages of 20 million bpd on Sunday.

Vessel-tracking services and commodity analysts, however, are struggling to reconcile this number with their observations of tanker loadings and traffic in the region.

Ship-tracking data shows that oil flows out of the Strait of Hormuz are at best half the volume cited by Secretary Wright.

The discrepancy is significant, with estimates suggesting a gap of 3-5 million bpd between actual and claimed exports.