Kuwait's crude oil exports have climbed back to about 1 million barrels per day, two-thirds of the volume it shipped through the Strait of Hormuz before the Iran war. The recovery relies on ship-to-ship transfers that reroute cargoes around the strait, and Gulf producers as a group have pushed exports from the chokepoint back to about 70% of pre-war levels.
Kuwait's crude oil exports have climbed to about 1 million barrels per day, recovering two-thirds of the 1.6 million bpd the country shipped through the Strait of Hormuz before the Iran war, according to a senior official at state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC).
Shaikh Khaled Ahmad Al Sabah, KPC's managing director for international marketing, said Tuesday at the Asia Pacific Petroleum Conference in Singapore that Kuwait has ramped up shipments in recent weeks, including through ship-to-ship (STS) transfers conducted outside the Strait of Hormuz. According to Bloomberg: "We can supply all of our customers" Shaikh Khaled said, though some volumes remain below prior levels.
Buyers who take delivery of KPC crude outside Hormuz must pay more to compensate for the risk of transiting the chokepoint, the official said. Buyers prepared to load cargoes inside the Persian Gulf, by contrast, receive discounts on the price of oil.
Producers shuttle cargoes around the chokepoint
Kuwait and other Gulf producers have raised exports out of the Strait of Hormuz in recent weeks by shuttling cargoes just outside the strait and transferring the oil onto other vessels. Total daily flows out of Hormuz are currently estimated at about 10 million bpd, of which 9 million bpd is crude and the rest fuels.
Qatar and Kuwait narrow the gap
As of the end of August, Qatar and Kuwait were estimated to have boosted crude exports from the Strait of Hormuz to 70% of pre-war levels, following the United Arab Emirates' lead in shuttling oil through the chokepoint and using ship-to-ship transfers in the Gulf of Oman.
Even so, Kuwait's crude oil exports in August ran 36% below the immediate pre-war baseline of January and February 2026, data from TankerTrackers.com showed last week. Kuwait is one of the Gulf producers to have recovered the most of its lost shipments.
Source: Investing.com
Trading involves risk.
Risk Disclaimer
