Aramco warns global oil stockpiles are thin

Saudi Aramco chief executive Amin Nasser has warned that global oil stockpiles have been heavily eroded and may take up to two years to rebuild. Speaking at the Energy Intelligence conference in London, he said the global system for supplying crude and refined products is already under significant strain.

Nasser framed the tightness as a structural issue rather than a short‑term fluctuation, stressing that inventories must be replenished even as ongoing demand is met. He said this dual requirement will keep pressure on the market for an extended period.

Nasser linked the pressures on inventories to the conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran. He said nearly 3 billion barrels of oil supply have been lost since U.S. and Israeli military strikes on Iran began in late February.

To bridge the gap, about 1 billion barrels have been released from oil stocks so far, Nasser said. He indicated that most of these drawdowns have come from commercial inventories rather than from strategic emergency reserves.

Despite sizeable volumes still technically in storage worldwide, Nasser suggested that only a fraction can be tapped in practice. He said roughly 6 billion barrels remain in storage but described these barrels as not practically available to the market.

This constraint means that the apparent stock cushion is smaller than headline figures suggest. Nasser warned that pressure on both crude supplies and refined fuels will intensify as long as these limitations persist.

Nasser highlighted the strategically important Strait of Hormuz as a key factor in the current tightness. He said pressure at both ends of the barrel will continue until the waterway fully reopens and market confidence is restored.

With flows through this chokepoint constrained, rerouting supplies and managing logistics has become more challenging. Nasser indicated that these transport frictions are amplifying the impact of lost production and depleted inventories.

In response to tightening supplies, G7 governments recently agreed to release 100 million barrels of diesel and crude from emergency reserves. This move comes on top of the commercial stock draws Nasser described.

While the additional barrels are intended to ease near‑term pressures, Nasser’s comments underscore that such releases do not replace the broader inventory buffer lost during the conflict. Rebuilding that safety margin, he said, could stretch over a period of up to two years.