Oil stockpiles in the world’s wealthiest nations haven’t been this low since George W. Bush was in the White House, the US Energy Department’s forecasting arm said Tuesday.
According to the Energy Information Administration, global oil inventories are expected to tumble by 6.3 million barrels per day this quarter and by another 7.66 million in the third quarter.
The energy system has had to aggressively drain commercial and emergency stockpiles because the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed.
As a result, oil inventories in the 38 wealthy nations that make up the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) are at their lowest level since 2003, according to EIA.
OECD member countries include the United States, Canada, Japan, Israel, South Korea, France and the United Kingdom.
Other countries have increasingly turned to US oil to replace Middle Eastern crude sidelined during the crisis.
US crude oil and petroleum product net exports surged to a record of 5.8 million barrels per day in April, the EIA said. Officials expect net exports to average 4.2 million barrels per day this year, up sharply from 1.4 million last year.
