Saudi Aramco CEO says global oil inventories are “frighteningly low”
In short
Saudi Aramco chief executive Nasser said on 5 October that global oil inventories, drawn down as the Middle East crisis drags on, are “frighteningly low”, and that replacing the shortfall could take up to two years. He urged governments to make supply chains more resilient. Speaking at an energy event in London, he said the company is looking at additional export routes and more storage capacity abroad to protect customers from future supply disruptions.
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The chief executive of Saudi Arabia's state oil company Saudi Aramco, Nasser, said on 5 October that global oil inventories are “frighteningly low” as the Middle East crisis drags on. He said it could take up to two years to replace the volumes that have been drawn down, and called on governments to strengthen supply chains. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Nasser made the remarks at an event in London discussing energy issues. According to the reports, he said the company is advancing studies on additional export routes and on securing more storage capacity outside the country, in order to protect customers from future supply disruptions. [ 1 , 3 ]
The remarks were reported by the British newspaper the Financial Times, according to the Japanese accounts. Sankei Shimbun attributed its report to the Kyodo news agency. The documents do not give figures for current inventory levels or for the size of the drawdown, and they do not identify the Middle East crisis to which Nasser referred. [ 1 , 3 ]
Why it matters
The warning comes from the head of the world's largest state oil company and concerns inventories that cushion the market against supply shocks, so it points to a longer period of tight supply and higher risk of disruption for importing countries, including Japan. What Aramco does about export routes and overseas storage could affect how oil reaches buyers in Asia. The documents give no figures for current stock levels, so the size of the shortfall is not quantified.
Key facts
- Saudi Aramco chief executive Nasser said on 5 October that global oil inventories are “frighteningly low”. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- He said it could take up to two years to replace the volumes that have been drawn down. [ 1 , 3 ]
- He called on governments to strengthen supply chains. [ 1 , 3 ]
- He spoke at an event in London discussing energy issues. [ 1 , 3 ]
- He said the company is considering additional export routes and more storage capacity outside Saudi Arabia to protect customers from future supply disruptions. [ 1 , 3 ]
- The remarks were reported by the Financial Times, according to the Japanese reports. [ 1 , 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
Still unclear
- Which conflict or set of events the documents call the “Middle East crisis”, and how long it has lasted. The documents refer to a prolonged Middle East crisis but give no name, location or duration.
- Current global oil inventory levels and the size of the drawdown. No figures appear in any of the documents.
- Whether Aramco has decided on new export routes or overseas storage, and on what timetable. Nasser is described as saying the company is considering them and is advancing studies; no decision or schedule is reported.
- What Tokyo Shimbun reported beyond its headline. Only the headline on the document’s page addressed this event; the rest of the accessible text was other stories.
- He said replacing the drawn-down volumes could take up to two years. Reported by a single source so far
- He urged governments to strengthen supply chains. Reported by a single source so far
- He made the remarks at an energy event in London. Reported by a single source so far
- He said Aramco is considering additional export routes and further storage capacity abroad. Reported by a single source so far