US says Hormuz oil flows higher than tracked

Washington, Aug 14 (IANS) US Energy Secretary Chris Wright has said eight million to nine million barrels of oil are moving through the Strait of Hormuz each day, disputing estimates that suggested traffic through the vital waterway had fallen sharply during the conflict with Iran.

Wright told Fox News that commercial tracking services were unable to present a complete picture because most vessels were travelling with their transponders switched off and under military escort.

“We know every day exactly how many ships transit the strait of Hormeus in and out,” Wright said in an interview with Bret Baier. “We know exactly what they’re carrying.”

The secretary said US authorities were coordinating directly with vessels and receiving daily reports on traffic through northern and southern routes.

Commercial tracking company Kpler had estimated that more than 100 vessels crossed the strait daily before the conflict. It recorded 14 crossings on Monday and the same number on Tuesday, Baier said.

Wright rejected those figures as incomplete.

“Almost all of these ships have their AIS, their transponders are off. So they’re dark, they’re under escort,” he said.

Wright said eight million to nine million barrels a day were passing through the strait on a running average. Another six million barrels were being diverted through pipelines, he said.

“In round numbers today, 14, 15 million barrels a day are leaving the Arabian Gulf region versus the 20 million barrels a day pre-conflict,” Wright said.

That meant the region was supplying about five million to six million fewer barrels each day. But Wright said the shortfall was smaller than widely believed.

Baier pressed Wright on President Donald Trump’s assertion that the United States had total control over the strait.

Wright did not repeat that claim. He said Iran was still creating difficulties for neighbouring countries and the global economy, but argued that Tehran’s capacity to disrupt shipping was declining as US escort operations expanded.

“They have sort of one card and it’s shrinking in size,” he said.

Wright also acknowledged that US petrol prices remained elevated at about $4 a gallon. He said the administration wanted to bring them back towards $3, though he offered no timetable.

“We absolutely will get there. The question is just the timing of that,” he said.

The immediate pressure was now greater in refining than in crude oil supplies, Wright said. He also cited Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries as a factor reducing global supplies of refined petroleum products and pushing prices higher.

The Strait of Hormuz links the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. It is the principal maritime outlet for energy exports from several Gulf producers and one of the world’s most important oil transit routes.

–IANS

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