Oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz have nearly tripled since the U.S.-Iran memorandum took effect
Oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz nearly tripled during the 60 days that the memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran was in effect, but remained significantly below pre-war levels. According to Kpler, approximately 374 million barrels of oil were shipped out of the Persian Gulf during this period, or an average of 6.1 million barrels per day.
Prior to the signing of the document on June 17, Kpler estimated that average exports through the Gulf stood at 2.3 million barrels per day. Despite the increase, volumes reached only about 40% of the roughly 15 million barrels of oil that passed through the Strait of Hormuz daily in 2025.
Emmanuel Belostrino, head of global oil market and geopolitics at Kpler, noted that more than half of the shipments took place during the first three weeks of the agreement. Toward the end of the agreement’s term, he said, the flow decreased, and oil began to accumulate again ahead of the narrow section of the strait.
For more breaking news, follow the UA.News Telegram channel.
The memorandum, announced on June 17 following diplomatic talks in which Pakistan served primarily as a mediator, expired on Monday without a peace agreement being reached. This occurred against the backdrop of negotiations between Washington and Tehran that had reached an impasse.
Attacks on commercial vessels are also affecting the safety of shipping in the strait. According to the UKMTO Operations Centre, five merchant ships were attacked there over the past week. In particular, on Tuesday, a cargo ship reported being struck by an unknown projectile near Oman; one sailor was killed. INTERCARGO specified that the deceased was a crew member of the Liberian-flagged bulk carrier Minoan Dignity.
According to preliminary data from Lloyd’s List Intelligence, 73 vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz between August 10 and 16, compared to 91 the previous week. Brent crude oil futures rose by about 0.3% on Thursday to $91.93 per barrel as of 06:00 GMT, according to Al Jazeera English.
