One Of The Largest Oil Exporters Is Resuming Shipments Through The Strait Of Hormuz
- 8.09.2026, 15:27
Bloomberg has revealed the details.
Kuwait has reached export levels of about 1 million barrels of crude oil per day, in particular through ship-to-ship transfers outside the Strait of Hormuz, according to Bloomberg.
The state-owned oil company Kuwait Petroleum Corp. is using both its own tankers and chartered vessels to transport oil as supplies of “black gold” resume through the Strait of Hormuz.
Although buyers have to pay more for KPC crude oil shipments outside the Persian Gulf to offset transit risks, volumes have recovered to nearly two-thirds of the 1.6 million barrels per day the country exported on average last year, as more tankers find ways to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
Estimates of daily flows through the strait vary among leading analysts. Vitol Group estimates them at approximately 10 million barrels, including 9 million barrels of crude oil, while Macquarie Group Ltd. has estimated volumes at approximately 7 million barrels of crude oil and refined fuel per day. This is still less than half of the 20 million barrels per day that used to pass through this sea route before the war.
Supplies continue, even though the resumption of hostilities between the U.S. and Iran has put an end to a period of relative calm, threatening new disruptions to energy flows through the waterway. Control over the Strait of Hormuz remains a key point of contention. Iran has stated that an agreement with Oman on managing shipping through the strait is inevitable.
With Washington and Tehran at an impasse, Gulf producers are increasingly turning to ship-to-ship transfers—so-called “shuttle trade.” Exporters are also considering pipelines that completely bypass the Strait. Kuwait is exploring alternative routes for exporting crude oil via pipelines through Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Kuwait also plans to increase refining capacity at its oil refineries to boost fuel supplies, as markets for products such as diesel remain tight.