Clandestine Hormuz Oil Flows Reach 2.9 Million BPD as Brent Holds Near $93
Updated
Updated · CNN · Jun 9
Clandestine Hormuz Oil Flows Reach 2.9 Million BPD as Brent Holds Near $93
1 articles · Updated · CNN · Jun 9
Summary
2.1 million to 2.9 million barrels per day of crude may still be slipping through the blocked Strait of Hormuz, with some tankers allegedly paying Iranian entities or going dark to evade detection.
15% of normal visible traffic is moving through the strait, yet Brent fell to $93 a barrel Friday—well below the recent $114 peak—suggesting hidden shipments are cushioning a far larger supply shock.
4.5 million barrels per day are also leaving the Persian Gulf by other routes, mainly Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline, while China has cut crude imports and drawn on stockpiles, easing demand pressure.
Commercial inventories have still fallen sharply, and the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve is nearing its lowest level since the early 1980s, indicating the workarounds are costly and finite.
Piper Sandler expects Brent to average $130 in July and August, a level it says could push U.S. gasoline above $5 a gallon to force more emergency supply releases and weaker consumption.
With strategic reserves at a 40-year low, is the world prepared for the next phase of this oil shock?
Beyond fuel costs, how will the Hormuz crisis disrupt global food and technology supply chains?
How is Iran’s shadow oil fleet creating a fragile stability in the global energy market?
Oil Under Siege: The 2026 Strait of Hormuz Crisis, Shadow Fleets, and the Future of Global Supply
Overview
The Strait of Hormuz remains a critical and highly contested chokepoint for global oil flows, especially after severe disruptions in June 2026. These disruptions cut about 8 million barrels of crude and 2 million barrels of condensates and natural gas liquids from daily supply, making a return to pre-war oil prices unlikely. Although Saudi Arabia and the UAE increased exports from non-Persian Gulf ports to around 6 million barrels per day, this was not enough to offset the lost volumes. Even with naval escorts, experts believe only a small fraction of the lost oil flow could be restored, highlighting the ongoing vulnerability of global energy markets.