Key facts
- Qatar and Kuwait have restored 70% of their pre-war crude oil export levels through the Strait of Hormuz.
- They are utilizing ship-to-ship transfers in the Gulf of Oman to move oil.
- This strategy has increased total oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz to 7-8 million barrels per day.
- The UAE and Saudi Arabia have also employed similar methods to maintain exports.
Qatar and Kuwait have managed to restore approximately 70% of their pre-conflict crude oil export volumes via the Strait of Hormuz, employing ship-to-ship transfers in the Gulf of Oman. This strategy, also adopted by the UAE and Saudi Arabia, has helped increase total oil flows through the critical chokepoint to an estimated 7-8 million barrels per day, up from about 4 million barrels per day in mid-July. Before the recent Middle East conflict, Qatar and Kuwait collectively exported around 2 million barrels per day through the Strait. The UAE has successfully boosted its oil exports to pre-crisis levels by using onshore pipelines and dark mode shipping, while Saudi Arabia has utilized the Red Sea and Egypt's Mediterranean ports. These creative solutions have helped maintain global oil flows, preventing benchmark crude oil futures from rising further despite tightening global fuel markets.