The ongoing energy supply shock is the largest the world has ever experienced, and continued disruption of the Strait of Hormuz could delay oil market normalization into 2027, Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser warned on Monday.
"The longer the supply disruptions continue, even for another few more weeks, it is going to take a much longer time for the oil market to rebalance and stabilize," he told analysts on a call to discuss the company's first-quarter results, which were released on Sunday and beat expectations.
The recovery could drag into 2027 if the situation continues until mid-June, Nasser said.
Iranian authorities effectively blocked the vital waterway in response to the US-Israel attacks on Iran that began on February 28, sending energy prices surging and stoking fears of spiraling inflation and a looming economic downturn.
Aramco has ramped up its East-West pipeline to its expanded capacity of 7 million barrels per day (bpd) to divert crude from its production heartland to the Red Sea port of Yanbu.
Nasser on Sunday called the pipeline a "critical lifeline".
The market is losing around 100 million barrels of oil for every week the maritime chokepoint remains closed, Nasser said, adding that only two to five vessels are now crossing the strait daily compared to around 70 before the war.
Even if the strait opens today, it will still take months for the market to rebalance, he said.
Nasser, however, predicted a very robust return to demand growth once normal shipping and trade resume.
