Western Oil Reserves Nearly Depleted After Iran Conflict Says Vitol Group CEO

The world's largest independent oil-trading company, Vitol Group, has warned that Western oil reserves have been nearly exhausted following the conflict with Iran. According to Vitol Group CEO Russell Hardy, oil and petroleum-product inventories in Western countries have been heavily depleted, leaving no significant reserves to draw upon.

Hardy emphasized the critical situation, stating that 'There are no more inventories in the West that can be sold down. We have sold down all the inventories that were available.' He also noted that the tight supply of petroleum products is likely to persist as winter approaches.

The head of Saudi Aramco corroborated this assessment, confirming that global oil inventories are severely limited. He revealed that out of roughly 6 billion barrels of global oil inventories, less than 10% is accessible due to various logistical constraints.

JPMorgan Commodities Research data underscores the rapid decline in global inventories since the start of the U.S. war with Iran. By June, inventories had dropped to the operational-stress level of 7.6 billion barrels, and by September, they had reached the critical minimum of 6.8 billion barrels necessary for normal pipeline and refinery operations.