Middle East Oil Exports Crash by at Least 60% Amid US-Iran Conflict

Oil exports from the Middle East have plummeted by at least 60% in the week to March 15 compared to February, due to disruptions and output cuts amid the U.S.-Iran war. The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz 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. According to data from Kpler, crude, condensate, and refined fuel exports from eight Middle Eastern countries, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates, averaged 9.71 million barrels per day in the week to March 15, down 61% from February's 25.13 million bpd.

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

‘Floating storage of Middle Eastern crude has surpassed 50 million barrels this week, up from pre-war levels of around 10 million barrels,’ Kpler analyst Johannes Rauball said. Total oil output cuts from Middle East producers have risen as the countries run out of storage and traffic through Hormuz remains a fraction of normal levels.