Global Oil Supply Cushion is “Dangerously Thin”: Aramco CEO
Speaking at the Energy Intelligence Forum in London on Monday, Saudi Aramco chief executive officer Amin Nasser warned the global oil supply cushion is “dangerously thin,” as estimates show global oil supply is still five to six million barrels per day short of normal levels.
“Emergency reserves might buy us a winter, they cannot fix long-term supply,” he added.
The statement comes days after the Group of Seven countries announced the release of 100 million barrels of oil from their strategic reserves.
Nasser did not directly answer if the East-West pipeline is fully intact. “We continue to meet our customer requirements,” he told the audience at the Energy Intelligence Forum, adding that the system includes multiple lines and terminals and that Aramco holds inventories to keep supplying the market.
“If [the situation] does not normalize soon, you will find out that you are sitting in a much bigger hole in terms of inventories,” he said.
When discussing oil prices, Nasser noted that the physical barrel price sometimes cost $20 to $30 /barrel more than the benchmark price, explaining why futures prices understate the supply squeeze.
Nasser called for producers and consumers to cooperate on emergency response and joint stockpiling, and said Aramco is in talks with governments about storing crude overseas.
Neil Atkinson, an independent energy analyst and former head of the oil markets division at the International Energy Agency, told Dow Jones Energy, OPIS’ parent company, his estimates also show a 5-6 million b/d shortage globally — corroborating Nasser’s numbers. He added that normalization in the Middle East is unlikely before the U.S. midterm elections.
There is scope for international cooperation to increase stocks once the situation is back to normal,” he said, suggesting that IEA members work with countries such as India and South Africa.
Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil exporter, reported second-quarter adjusted net income of $33.4 billion, up 33% from a year earlier, as higher prices more than offset a sharp fall in output caused by disruption to oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz.
Aramco is in the “feasibility and engineering” stage on a fourth and fifth export route, Nasser informed the audience. These would add to the three routes it has now: the Arabian Gulf through Hormuz, the Red Sea via the East-West pipeline to Yanbu, and the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal and the Sumed pipeline.
According to Nasser, nearly 3 billion barrels of gross oil supply has been lost since the start of the Middle East conflict, or roughly half the crude and product that would normally have moved through Hormuz over the same period.
–Reporting by Nia Simeonova, nia.simeonova@dowjones.com; Editing by Yazdi Merchant, yazdi.merchant@dowjones.com
© 2026 Oil Price Information Service, LLC. All rights reserved.