Persian Gulf oil exports top prewar levels under US-protected shipping lanes; Iran escalates attacks - report

Oil shipments out of the Persian Gulf have climbed past prewar levels, as an improvised, US-protected shipping system keeps tankers moving through the Strait of Hormuz, according to a Wall Street Journal report. This comes despite Iran some of its most intense waves of attacks yet. Kpler said Middle East oil flows, via Hormuz and alternative routes, averaged more than 24 million barrels a day in the week through Oct. 18, above the prewar 23.3 million.

Preliminary data put Hormuz volumes, including offshore transfers in the Gulf of Oman, near 14 million barrels a day, or 82% of prewar levels. Pipelines across Saudi Arabia and the UAE are also moving crude, and about 40% of non-Iranian Gulf crude bypassed the strait in September, versus 17% before the war, Kpler estimated. Brent crude stayed high, near $108 a barrel Tuesday, and traders fear the gains may not hold if fighting resumes, with thinning global inventories leaving little margin for error.

The costly operation reaches consumers at the pump. The resilience marks a shift in the fight over the chokepoint: Iran can still make transit dangerous and costly. Still, its ability to deter ships has faded, weakening its leverage over Washington. Iran’s own exports remain bottled up by a US maritime blockade, and the risk is that Tehran strikes harder to regain influence, possibly drawing the US into another confrontation before the midterm elections in two weeks.

American air cover protects a corridor along the Omani coast. Tankers load inside the Gulf and cross Hormuz, often with tracking signals off, then transfer cargoes near Oman to ships bound for distant markets before returning to the Gulf, where the risk of being hit is greatest. Suggested articles Middle East oil exports rebound sharply as shippers regain confidence in Strait of Hormuz | i24NEWS Trump weighs fresh Iran strikes before midterms amid gas price push - report | i24NEWS Eight US Marines injured in Iranian strike in Strait of Hormuz - report | i24NEWS The IRGC uses drones and missiles, plus Houthi-style tactics near the Red Sea, with spotters in fishing boats and fighters on the water.

Traders can earn $20 a barrel more reselling Iraqi oil than before the war, about $40 million per supertanker cargo, Kpler’s Homayoun Falakshahi estimated, and three such voyages could repay a $100 million secondhand tanker. Crews are being offered two to three times their usual pay, with one staffing firm up to $25,000 per round trip. The supertanker Loyalty has entered the Gulf twice since September to load Iraqi crude, notifying the US Navy and carrying security personnel, a crew member said.

On Oct. 16, a rocket-propelled grenade fired from a small boat holed its fresh water tank, according to security company Vanguard. Freight for a supertanker carrying Gulf crude to China neared a record $37.37 a barrel this week, and war-risk insurance rose to as much as 10% of a vessel’s value from under 3%. “In April, the problem was a shortage of crude. 2 tankers sink in Strait of Hormuz: Iran ramps up attacks in run-up to U.S. midterm elections