Iran war and 3-month Hormuz disruption spur new strategic oil stockpiles, with about 500 million barrels of added demand in focus

The Iran war kept the Strait of Hormuz nearly shut for more than three months, cutting off a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies and prompting the IEA to coordinate a record 400 million-barrel release from strategic reserves. China, believed to hold more than a billion barrels in its strategic petroleum reserve, reduced crude purchases by more than a third during the war to cushion the shock. Countries including India, Pakistan and Australia are now moving to build or expand strategic stockpiles, while ROI estimates new storage plans could require around 500 million barrels, with refilling depleted inventories potentially lifting total additional demand to roughly 1 billion barrels.