ADNOC Chief Says World Has “Eroded Its Supply Buffers”

Abu Dhabi's state-owned oil company Adnoc CEO Sultan Al Jaber warned that the world has significantly depleted its energy supply buffers due to the US-Israeli war on Iran, disrupting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Since the conflict began, nearly one billion oil barrels have been drained from global inventories. Some diesel stockpiles are at 35-year lows for this time of year, while others face a 600 billion cubic feet shortfall in liquefied natural gas supply.

Diesel prices have surged to record highs across many markets, driven by wartime supply disruptions, posing inflation and cost-of-living threats to governments and consumers. Al Jaber emphasized the need for expanded strategic storage, larger product stockpiles, and flexible refining capacity closer to consumer markets. He stressed that infrastructure must be built before it's required and enabled by advanced logistics.

The cost of shipping and logistics has risen to 30% of a barrel's cost, up from just 5% before the Iran war. Brent crude is trading around US$110 a barrel, a 50% increase from February before the war. In October, the International Energy Agency agreed to release more than 20 million barrels of diesel into the market and utilized record emergency reserves pledged in March to boost supply and curb prices.

Saudi Arabia’s state oil company, Saudi Aramco, reported that fewer than six billion barrels of commercial inventories remain, with most not practically available.