• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Current price of oil as of June 16, 2026

2

'Work hard, stay loyal, and the system will reward you': the Boomer credo is a Gen X betrayal and a Millennial pipe dream

3

Cursor’s 25-year-old CEO is a former Google intern who just cemented a $60 billion deal with SpaceX

1

Current price of oil as of June 16, 2026

2

'Work hard, stay loyal, and the system will reward you': the Boomer credo is a Gen X betrayal and a Millennial pipe dream

3

Cursor’s 25-year-old CEO is a former Google intern who just cemented a $60 billion deal with SpaceX
EnergyOil

Oil market chaos to deepen as more Gulf giants cut output

By
Yongchang Chin
Yongchang Chin
and
Bloomberg
Bloomberg
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Yongchang Chin
Yongchang Chin
and
Bloomberg
Bloomberg
Down Arrow Button Icon
March 8, 2026, 11:37 AM ET
New Horizon crude oil tanker berths at the oil terminal of the port of Qingdao, in China's eastern Shandong province on March 6, 2026.
New Horizon crude oil tanker berths at the oil terminal of the port of Qingdao, in China's eastern Shandong province on March 6, 2026.CN-STR / AFP via Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

The chaos that has gripped the oil market looks set to deepen, with more production getting cut as the war in Iran effectively shuts the Strait of Hormuz, and the US considers widening its range of targets in the country.

Recommended Video

The United Arab Emirates and Kuwait have already started reducing oil production as storage runs out, joining Iraq, whose output is now down 60%. Others may be forced to follow as oil tankers continue avoiding the narrow waterway, rapidly reducing the number of empty ones available for loading. Once all the vessels are loaded, the region’s remaining on-land storage will fill even quicker.

The upheaval, now in its ninth day, shows no sign of imminent resolution, meaning a strip of water that normally handles a fifth of the world’s oil is impassable. Saudi Arabia is diverting record amounts of crude to its Red Sea coast for export, helping to alleviate at least some of the pressure.

Iran has vowed not to back down in the face of US and Israeli strikes that began on Feb. 28. President Donald Trump responded on Saturday by saying the US would now consider targeting areas and groups of people in Iran that were not previously aimed for. The attacks will continue “until they surrender or, more likely, completely collapse!” he said in a social media post.

For oil analysts, executives and traders, that has meant ever-louder warnings that the war is bringing crude to a tipping point, and closer to the psychological $100-a-barrel threshold. Brent already climbed 30% last week — its biggest jump in six years, putting it just dollars from that mark.

Other markers tied closely to the region have already soared through that level. Futures tied to Abu Dhabi’s flagship Murban crude closed at $103 a barrel on Friday, while Oman crude futures were at $107. Chinese crude oil futures on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange ended, in US dollar terms, at $109.

“Every additional day of disruption adds pressure, and in that scenario there is effectively no ceiling to prices in the short term,” said Stefano Grasso, a one-time physical energy trader who’s now senior portfolio manager at Singapore-based fund 8VantEdge Pte. 

Read More: Traders Warn $100 Oil Is Imminent If Iran War Keeps Raging

For one, there are growing threats to oil infrastructure — raising the risk of disruptions that could outlast attacks in the area. Saudi Arabia intercepted drones that were heading toward the 1-million-barrel-a-day Shaybah oil field over the weekend. Strikes in Bahrain and Qatar have also continued.

There is also the continued blockage of the Strait of Hormuz. Over the past days, only Iran-linked tankers and two bulk carriers, which claimed to be Chinese-owned, have been seen transiting.

The effective closure has led to Iraq’s pumping dropping to about 1.7 million to 1.8 million barrels a day, down from about 4.3 million a day pre-conflict, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, is directing unprecedented amounts of crude to its Red Sea coast. Shipments from its western terminals have surged to a rate of about 2.3 million barrels a day so far this month, ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg show. While that’s about 50% more than the kingdom has shipped from Red Sea in any month since the end of 2016, it’s far below the 6 million a day that the country has exported from the Persian Gulf in recent months.

The US has promised to bolster financial protection and potentially provide military escorts, and announced on Friday that it would roll out maritime reinsurance for the Persian Gulf region. The facility will cover losses up to about $20 billion “on a rolling basis”, according to a statement.

For shipowners and charterers operating in the region, however, the cost of insurance is not the major concern holding up traffic. Instead, they worry about the safety of vessels and crew, and say they would need full naval escort — along the lines of Operation Prosperity Guardian, a coalition to safeguard shipping in the Red Sea — or preferably an end to hostilities.

Read More: US Offers $20 Billion Reinsurance Plan to Spur Gulf Oil Flow

Other US moves to dampen oil price increases include allowing India to access Russian oil currently held in floating storage in the region. Washington has also floated tapping its strategic petroleum reserve or even intervening in futures markets — officials have since downplayed these ideas, while Trump has brushed off inflationary worries even as US gasoline prices spike.

“This is an excursion,” he said on Saturday. “We figured oil prices would go up, which they will, they’ll also come down, they’ll come down very fast.”

Import-dependent Asia, which leans heavily on the Middle East, is feeling the most immediate pain. 

In Japan — which takes over 90% of its crude from the region — refiners are asking for the option of drawing on national oil reserves. Others, including China, have curbed fuel exports to preserve supply and keep domestic prices controlled. South Korea is considering reinstating an oil price cap for the first time in 30 years, state news agency Yonhap reported on Sunday, citing government officials.

In northwest Europe, meanwhile, the price of jet fuel soared to an all-time high of $1,528 a ton — the equivalent of more than $190 a barrel — on Thursday, according to figures from General Index that go back to 2008. The impact on jet fuel is particularly sharp because half of the European Union’s imports typically pass through Hormuz.

Read More: Queues, Price Hikes and Shortages as Asia Battles Fuel Crunch

For analysts at ING Groep NV, the base case is now four weeks of disruption — two of full upheaval and two weeks of 50%, said Warren Patterson, the bank’s head of commodities strategy in Singapore. 

“This scenario doesn’t necessarily mean that we see a full end to the conflict in this time period,” he said. “But if US and Israeli strikes degrade Iran’s ability to attack vessels and enforce a closure of the Strait of Hormuz, we could see flows starting to normalize.”

The bank’s most dramatic scenario is a three-month, full disruption to oil and liquefied natural gas flows. This would likely see oil prices spiking to records through the second quarter, the bank’s analysts wrote in a note.

Subscribe to Fortune Gulf Brief. Every Tuesday, this new newsletter delivers clear-eyed, authoritative intelligence on the deals, decisions, policies, and power shifts shaping one of the world’s most consequential regions, written for the people who need to act on it. Sign up here.
About the Authors
By Yongchang Chin
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
By Bloomberg
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Energy

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Energy

sea
Energygas
The Iran war exposed Southeast Asia’s energy vulnerability. Now its import bill could triple to $245 billion
By Anton L. Delgado and The Associated PressJune 17, 2026
38 minutes ago
Current price of oil as of June 17, 2026
Personal FinanceOil
Current price of oil as of June 17, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 17, 2026
2 hours ago
Vessels lie at anchor in the Strait of Hormuz off Iran's coast.
Energyoil and gas
Filling up your car won’t feel normal until next summer, S&P says
By Tristan BoveJune 16, 2026
19 hours ago
Current price of oil as of June 16, 2026
Personal FinanceOil
Current price of oil as of June 16, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 16, 2026
1 day ago
REE Corp. chair Nguyen Thi Mai Thanh spent 40 years navigating Vietnam’s economy. Here’s what she thinks comes next
MagazineVietnam
REE Corp. chair Nguyen Thi Mai Thanh spent 40 years navigating Vietnam’s economy. Here’s what she thinks comes next
By Nicholas GordonJune 16, 2026
1 day ago
U.S.-Iran interim deal: What could a Gulf bounce back look like?
NewslettersFortune Gulf Brief
U.S.-Iran interim deal: What could a Gulf bounce back look like?
By Melissa HancockJune 16, 2026
1 day ago

Most Popular

Current price of oil as of June 16, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 16, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 16, 2026
1 day ago
'Work hard, stay loyal, and the system will reward you': the Boomer credo is a Gen X betrayal and a Millennial pipe dream
Success
'Work hard, stay loyal, and the system will reward you': the Boomer credo is a Gen X betrayal and a Millennial pipe dream
By Nick LichtenbergJune 16, 2026
1 day ago
Cursor’s 25-year-old CEO is a former Google intern who just cemented a $60 billion deal with SpaceX
AI
Cursor’s 25-year-old CEO is a former Google intern who just cemented a $60 billion deal with SpaceX
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJune 16, 2026
1 day ago
Hundreds of Stanford students walked out of their grad ceremony to protest Google CEO’s commencement speech. It wasn’t all about AI
Big Tech
Hundreds of Stanford students walked out of their grad ceremony to protest Google CEO’s commencement speech. It wasn’t all about AI
By Tristan BoveJune 15, 2026
2 days ago
Team USA star Ricardo Pepi grew up in a trailer in El Paso—and his parents pawned their car title to fuel his soccer dream. Now, he’s in the World Cup
Success
Team USA star Ricardo Pepi grew up in a trailer in El Paso—and his parents pawned their car title to fuel his soccer dream. Now, he’s in the World Cup
By Preston ForeJune 15, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of silver as of Tuesday, June 16, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Tuesday, June 16, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 16, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.