Americas Offset Some Middle East Oil Supply Issues

---

Written by Daniel Graeber for IIR News Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)

---

Summary

The U.S. led the way in contributing new barrels to the market at a time when war is limiting global supplies. Emergency stockpiles, however, are a nagging concern.

---

Persian Gulf Traffic Well Below Pre-War Levels

With producers in and around the Persian Gulf locked in by the conflict, the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) said the Americas have helped to fill the gap.

The IEA said August saw about 7.6 million barrels per day (bpd) move through the Strait of Hormuz, down about 13 million bpd from levels before the conflict began in late February.

Conflict that began with joint U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iran has stifled traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, which hosted about 20% of the global waterborne trade in crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) before the conflict started in February. A recent attack on the East-West pipeline, a Saudi network that can avoid the strait, was carried out by the Houthi rebel group in Yemen, curtailing flows even further.

Readers can learn more about these developments from a detailed profile of the East-West pipeline and Industrial Info Resources' September 14, 2026, article - Key Saudi Oil Pipeline Damaged in Drone Attack.

It's largely the Americas offsetting those supply losses, the IEA found. Between February and August, the U.S. added 520,000 bpd, while Brazil came in second with 470,000 bpd. Elsewhere in the Americas, Venezuela contributed 300,000 bpd to the market, the agency reported, though much of that supply has gone to U.S. refiners.

The U.S. federal government and the interim government of Venezuela tapped North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP) to lead developments. NABEP, in turn, handed the U.S. Department of Defense a 35% stake in the company, while the State Department secured the rights to 20% of production "from all current and future fields NABEP will operate."

Federal U.S. data for the seven-day period ending September 11 show the U.S. market took in 792,000 bpd from Venezuela. According to Industrial Info Resources data, all the Venezuelan refineries and upgraders are working as expected, even after devastating earthquakes in July.

By the Numbers

• 285,000 barrels left in U.S. strategic crude oil reserves
• 13 million bpd decline in traffic through the Strait of Hormuz

Crude Oil Inventories Dangerously Low

But even with supply diversity, the IEA said the global crude oil inventories have drawn down at a record pace since the conflict began.

"Observed oil stocks are now 507 million barrels lower than they were at the onset of the war," the IEA stated, adding member states have come through with 300 million barrels from their strategic stockpiles.

In the U.S. economy, those stockpiles are becoming a growing concern. For the week ending September 11, the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve had 285,000 barrels remaining, leaving it less than half full and therefore unlikely to be an alternative supply source in an emergency.

While there are no tropical storms posing a threat to the oil-rich U.S. Gulf Coast, refinery operations are creating their own problems. A weekly refinery report from Industrial Info Resources found refinery outages were up 213,000 bpd week-on-week to average 450,000 bpd for the seven-day period ending September 11, due mostly to planned work.

Exxon Mobil Corporation was forced to close its 250,000-bpd refinery in Joliet, Illinois, following a power outage on September 13, adding to the increase. Furthermore, BP plc is undergoing planned maintenance at its 404,000-bpd refinery in Whiting, Indiana, on a unit that produces high-octane gasoline blendstock, heaping pain on consumers already coping with lingering inflation.

Industrial Info Resources offers more information on these facilities in its Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Petroleum Refining Plant Database, where readers can find details on the Joliet and Whiting facilities.

Crude oil prices, meanwhile, are in a period of retreat as market watchers look for signs of diplomacy at the upcoming meeting of the U.N. General Assembly in New York.

Key Takeaways

• Emergency buffers are scarce in the global energy sector
• IEA finds the Americas offsetting some Middle East supply issues

---

About Industrial Info Resources
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news, and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing, and energy-related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified, and verified plant and project opportunities. Across the world, Industrial Info Resources is tracking over 250,000 current and future projects worth $30.2 trillion (USD).