World’s energy supply buffers have been eroded, Adnoc CEO says

Published Mon, Nov 2, 2026 · 03:53 PM

[ABU DHABI] The world has eroded its supply buffers by draining nearly one billion oil barrels from global inventories since the US-Israeli war on Iran disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the chief executive officer of Abu Dhabi’s state-owned oil company Adnoc said.

Diesel stockpiles in some areas are at 35-year lows for this time of the season, while others face an liquefied natural gas supply gap of 600 billion cubic feet, Sultan Al Jaber added on Monday (Nov 2) at the United Arab Emirates’ ADIPEC conference.

Prices of diesel in many markets have surged to record highs, boosted by wartime supply disruptions, and pose inflation and cost-of-living threats to governments and consumers.

“We need expanded strategic storage, larger stockpiles of products, and flexible refining capacity closer to consumer markets,” Al Jaber said. “Infrastructure must be built before it is needed and enabled by advanced logistics.”

The cost of shipping and logistics has risen to 30 per cent of the cost of a barrel, from 5 per cent before the Iran war, Al Jaber said.

The international benchmark Brent is trading around US$110 a barrel, up about 50 per cent from February just before the war began.

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