Oil shipments from Gulf states have topped 1.5 billion barrels since June with U.S. military assistance, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said, as regional crude flows largely matched their prewar level in September.
Market intelligence firm Kpler estimated that at least 16.5 million barrels a day left the region in September, excluding Iran, equal to the prewar average. Al Jazeera reported that analysts pointed to offshore transfers from vessel to vessel, U.S. escorts and wider pipeline use as factors supporting the rebound.
In a Sunday update, CENTCOM counted more than 3,000 commercial-vessel passages through the Strait of Hormuz with U.S. support over the preceding six months. It said more than 95% of recent passages were completed safely and that mine-clearance work had left the main routes free of Iranian mines.
Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM's commander, visited the region Sunday, Oct. 25, and observed conditions around the strait from a U.S. Army helicopter, Al Jazeera reported. The outlet also reported that commercial vessels continued to face the threat of Iranian attacks.
The figures extend EconoTimes' earlier coverage of CENTCOM's safe-passage claims and the Gulf oil-export recovery.
