Oil prices are waiting for peace, but ADNOC spent $590 million to buy five VLCCs
Two crude-loaded supertankers sailed out of Hormuz, prompting the market to lower part of the shipping risk premium. On the same day, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company expanded its own fleet. Oil prices are focused on whether the next ship can pass, and energy companies are allocating assets for transportation disruptions in the coming years. On Friday, two ultra-large crude oil vessels sailed out of the Strait of Hormuz. Spain B loaded about 2 million barrels of Saudi crude oil and docked near Fujairah, UAE; Noble is carrying about 2 million barrels of Iraqi Basra crude oil, destined for China. Only four visible cargo ships passed through Hormuz that day, all sailing out—one more than the previous day. Meanwhile, Brent crude $BZ is trading around $89.50 per barrel, with a cumulative increase of about 22% in July. Neither ship has restored a global energy artery. They changed the market's judgment of direction. The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that in the first half of 2025, oil and other liquids passing through Hormuz will average 20.9 million barrels per day, accounting for about one-fifth of global oil consumption and a quarter of maritime oil trade. The two VLCCs that set out on Friday carried about 4 million barrels in total, which is just a single cargo movement and cannot compare to the daily continuous transport capacity under normal conditions. $USO $CL $XLE Figure | Hormuz's risk exposure is not evenly distributed: exports are concentrated in Gulf oil producing countries, while the receiving end is heavily biased toward Asian markets such as China, India, Japan, and South Korea. Source: EIA, Vortexa; Data screenshot
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