The oil market will lose at least 1bn barrels of crude and refined products due to the war in the Middle East, even if the conflict ends tomorrow, the head of the world’s biggest independent oil trader has warned.
Russell Hardy, who has run Vitol since 2018, said the attacks on energy infrastructure in the Gulf and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz had resulted in the loss of roughly 12mn barrels of oil production per day since the US and Israel first bombed Iran at the end of February.
“In round numbers, the 1bn [barrels] is baked in now because we have probably lost 600mn to 700mn at this stage, but by the time things get moving again, if they get moving again, it takes time to bring all [the shut or damaged infrastructure] back,” Hardy told the FT Commodities Global Summit in Lausanne.