The world has drained nearly one billion barrels of oil from global inventories since the US-Israeli war on Iran disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the head of Abu Dhabi's state oil company ADNOC said on Monday 2 November.

Sultan Al Jaber told the ADIPEC energy conference in Abu Dhabi that the world had eroded its supply buffers, warning that global energy security now had to be rebuilt.

Diesel stocks at 35-year seasonal lows

Diesel stockpiles in some areas are at 35-year lows for this time of year, Al Jaber said, while other markets face a liquefied natural gas supply gap of 600 billion cubic feet. Shipping and logistics costs have risen to 30% of the cost of a barrel, up from 5% before the war, he added.

The international benchmark Brent was trading at around $110 a barrel, up about 50% from February just before the war began, according to Reuters reporting of the speech. Prices vary by source and time of quote.

Emergency releases try to plug the gap

Last month the International Energy Agency agreed to release more than 20 million barrels of diesel to the market, along with any oil remaining from a record emergency reserves release pledged in March, in an effort to boost supply and cool prices.

Saudi Aramco chief executive Amin Nasser said last month that fewer than six billion barrels of commercial inventories remained, with the vast majority not practically available, underlining how little spare cushion the market now has if disruption worsens.

Sources: Reuters via Devdiscourse, 2 November 2026; BusinessWorld, 2 November 2026.