The CEO of the giant commodity trading company Vitol, Russell Hardy, expressed concerns today, Tuesday, about crude oil prices reaching $200 per barrel, noting that the continued flow of oil from the Middle East has prevented this.
Hardy said during his speech at the Energy Intelligence Forum in London, followed by "Video News Agency," that around 12 million barrels per day of crude oil and two million barrels per day of refined products left the Middle East on tankers during the past seven to ten days.
He added that the flow of between 10 million and 14 million barrels per day helps maintain balance in energy markets as winter approaches, with stockpiles in the West being depleted.
Hardy noted that the global oil market has shown significant resilience in facing successive disruptions this year, which started as a crude oil crisis then turned into a refined products crisis and is now a shipping crisis.
He confirmed that China served as a "safety valve" for the oil market during May and June, as it was able to use oil stocks to operate its system. However, developing countries across the rest of Asia faced difficulties due to a lack of reserve stocks and because their supply chains are closely linked to the Middle East.