115 crore barrels of oil gone missing during Iran war:Oil reserves lowest in 36 years; Trump says reserves would be exhausted in 4 weeks

After the Iran-US agreement, the Strait of Hormuz reopened this week. However, the world is still not completely out of the oil crisis. According to a report by analytics firm Kpler, about 115 crore barrels of oil supply have disappeared from the global market during nearly four months of conflict. The impact could continue to be felt for months ahead. The report said oil shipments from the Middle East were almost halted during the war, leading to a sharp drawdown of global strategic and commercial oil reserves. Around 190 million barrels of oil have been withdrawn from stockpiles in recent months. The International Energy Agency’s (IEA) strategic reserves have fallen to their lowest level since 1990, while the US emergency oil reserve is at a 43-year low. US President Donald Trump said during the G7 meeting in Versailles on Wednesday that if the war had not been brought to an end, US reserves could have been depleted in about four weeks. Oil falls after ceasefire News of a US-Iran agreement brought relief to oil markets. Brent crude, which had surged to $126 per barrel during the conflict, has now dropped below $80. However, the price decline does not tell the full story. According to the report, oil supply will not return to normal immediately even after the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Sea mines must first be cleared from shipping routes. After that, it will take time for empty tankers to return, oil production to ramp up, and supply chains to stabilise. Industry experts believe it could take several months for the system to fully recover. Until then, the world will have to rely on existing oil inventories. RBC Capital Markets’ Helima Croft said the market is becoming overly optimistic. She warned that it is too early to declare the crisis over, as major challenges remain in restoring oil supplies to normal levels. Some experts still expect relief Jay Hatfield, CEO of Infrastructure Capital Advisors, believes cash-strapped OPEC members are ready to increase production. This could add extra supply to the market and put downward pressure on prices. Vikas Dwivedi, Global Oil and Gas Strategist at Macquarie Group, said the world had built up substantial oil inventories before the war began. That is why markets did not collapse despite the massive supply disruption. He noted that diesel and petrol stocks in the US have declined, but the situation remains under control. During the crisis, refiners had to make numerous calls to secure oil supplies. In the coming weeks, however, the situation could reverse, with sellers actively approaching buyers. Still, experts say replacing the 1.15 billion barrels of oil lost during the conflict will not be easy. Even if global production exceeds demand by 5 million barrels per day, it would still take about a year to make up the shortfall. ​