Aramco CEO Says Oil Supply Pressure to Intensify Until Hormuz Fully Reopens

By Farhan Rafid

Saudi Aramco Chief Executive Amin Nasser said Monday that pressure on global energy supplies would intensify until the Strait of Hormuz fully reopens, as disruptions to shipping and attacks on Middle East energy infrastructure strain hydrocarbon markets.

Speaking at the 25th WPC Energy Congress in Riyadh, Nasser said diesel prices were around $200 a barrel, while commercial onshore oil inventories had fallen well below 6 billion barrels, with much of those supplies not practically available.

Nasser reiterated a warning he made in London last week that rebuilding global oil inventories while meeting demand could take up to two years.

The WPC Energy Congress, formerly known as the World Petroleum Congress, is held every three years and brings together government officials and energy-industry executives. The 25th edition, running from Oct. 11-15, is being staged for the first time in Saudi Arabia and is only the second in the Middle East, after Qatar hosted the event in 2011.

The energy conference is proceeding despite deadly attacks on Riyadh's international airport that Saudi Arabia blamed on Yemen's Houthi militants. The attacks have disrupted international flights, forcing top executives from companies such as BP, ExxonMobil, Shell and TotalEnergies to pull out of the event, according to media reports. Representatives of BP, ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. Shell declined to comment.

The event organizer said the congress was proceeding as planned, noting it had opened with strong engagement.

The conflict is jeopardizing Saudi efforts to build travel and tourism into a pillar of the economy, including a marquee international investment conference scheduled for the end of the month, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The airport attacks come amid a broader escalation by the Houthis, who have also targeted Saudi energy infrastructure and threatened shipping through the Red Sea, a key alternative route for the kingdom's oil exports with flows through the Strait of Hormuz restricted due to the Iran war.

Confirmed oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz averaged 10.5 million barrels a day in the seven days through Oct. 10, about 38% below prewar levels of 17.1 million barrels a day, according to Kpler. The figures exclude Iranian-origin shipments and remain preliminary, with the possibility of upward revisions.

Aramco is studying additional crude-export routes and working to expand overseas storage to help manage short-term disruptions, Nasser said. More than 90% of materials used to restore its operations have been sourced domestically, allowing some restoration work to be completed within hours or days rather than weeks or months, he said.

Oil prices rebounded from initial losses Monday, with Brent crude futures rising 1.8% to $106.63 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate futures gaining 1.7% to $93.39, as renewed doubts over a Russia-Ukraine energy ceasefire and the Saudi airport attacks raised concerns over energy supplies and regional shipping routes.

Meanwhile, European low-sulphur gasoil futures, a widely used benchmark for diesel prices, traded Monday at around $1,412 a metric ton for November delivery, equivalent to roughly $190 a barrel.

Write to Farhan Rafid at farhan.rafid@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 12, 2026 10:33 ET (14:33 GMT)