Aramco warns of oil market 'catastrophe' unless strait of Hormuz reopens soon

[dalton99a]

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/mar/10/aramco-warns-oil-market-catastrophe-strait-of-hormuz

Aramco warns of oil market ‘catastrophe’ unless strait of Hormuz reopens soon
Saudi Arabian state oil firm calls crisis by far the biggest the region has seen but firm can reroute 70% of exports and tap crude held in storage
Jillian Ambrose
Tue 10 Mar 2026 10.22 EDT

Saudi Arabia’s state oil company has warned of “catastrophic consequences” for the world’s oil markets if the US-Israeli war with Iran continues to block shipping in the strait of Hormuz.

The world’s biggest oil company expects to be able to export about 70% of its usual crude output despite the stranglehold on the vital trade artery, but its chief executive warned that there would still be “drastic” consequences for the world economy if the disruption continues.

Oil shipments from the Middle East have been blocked from passing through the narrow waterway since the US strikes on Iran 11 days ago, erasing about 20m barrels of oil from the global market every day.

Amin Nasser, the chief executive of Aramco, said: “While we have faced disruptions in the past, this one by far is the biggest crisis the region’s oil and gas industry has faced.”

Typically about 100 tankers a day pass through the narrow waterway lying south of Iran, but the number has dwindled to single digits after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened to “set ablaze” any vessel using the trade route, which carries a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas.

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[efhmc]

1. Talk to the dumbest business person in the entire universe.

[OC375]

2. It will reopen under NATO/US control is my guess

All the “cool” fleets are headed there or there already. Everyone wants the Silk Road.

[Miguelito Loveless]

3. Sending more ships into the area

just increases the number of targets of opportunity.

[OC375]

4. I don't disagree

But they'll still send in more ships and planes. It needs to stay open or the world doesn't function as currently designed, at least for a while. That won't be tolerated for long by many nations with navies, and I suspect NATO and pal's will step in before someone else gets too comfortable in there.

[Miguelito Loveless]

5. The world hasn't been functioning as designed for at least a decade

I would argue that the last time it was anywhere close to functioning was the 90s.

Removing mines takes mine sweepers. Mine sweepers require close escorts. For the cost of a single tomahawk missile the Iranians can launch hundreds of drones. They can’t stop them all.