Middle East oil shipments recover to 98% of pre-war volumes, JPMorgan data shows

NEW YORK, September 30. /TASS/. Oil shipments from the Middle East have largely recovered, reaching 98% of the volumes exported prior to the outbreak of hostilities by the US and Israel against Iran, Bloomberg reported, citing data from JPMorgan.

According to the bank's data, crude shipments have rebounded to 17.5 million barrels per day (bpd). Meanwhile, refined product exports from the region are at 3 million bpd, or 58% of pre-war levels. "Middle Eastern countries are shipping oil again. <...> [This is] a remarkable recovery for a region where war is still ongoing," the agency quoted a bank expert as saying.

JPMorgan analysts also noted that crude flows through the Strait of Hormuz have essentially returned to about 13 million bpd, matching late-June levels.

Earlier the agency reported that Saudi Arabia had resumed exports via the East-West Pipeline, which had previously been attacked by Yemen’s Houthi rebel movement, Ansar Allah. The pipeline's restart gives Riyadh access to an alternative export route bypassing the Strait of Hormuz.

The US and Israel launched military operations against Iran on February 28. In June, Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon. However, on the night of July 8, the United States resumed large-scale strikes on Iran, accusing it of violating the agreement regarding the Strait of Hormuz. Prior to the conflict, approximately 25% of global maritime oil trade and about 20% of liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments passed through the strait.