Oil Shuttling Service Out of Hormuz Picked Up Again Amid Escalating Hostilities

The oil-shuttling service that helps get cargoes out of the Strait of Hormuz has picked up again after a recent lull, helping millions of barrels escape as Middle East hostilities escalate.

Producers have made use of shuttle runs to get their barrels through Hormuz as many shipowners remain reluctant to transit the waterway. Instead, regional suppliers are either using their own vessels or agreeing fixed-length contracts to carry barrels, guaranteeing they can get oil to the market.

At least two shippers involved in moving barrels through the strait are now ferrying volumes close to levels seen prior to the escalation in hostilities, which pushed oil back to $100 a barrel last week. Before the war, Hormuz carried about a fifth of global oil volumes, or about 20 million barrels a day.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that the American military continues to escort barrels through Hormuz, and that about 13 million barrels a day are leaving the Gulf, half through the strait and half via bypass pipelines. US Central Command said that since early May, it has helped about 500 million barrels of oil leave Hormuz.