Strature BriefsDecision BriefNo. 023Edition 1.0 (archive)30 Sep 2026
Decision Brief · Saudi crude

If the Strait of Hormuz stays closed, how much Saudi crude can reach buyers, and for how long?

74–196 million barrels could leave Saudi Arabia in six weeks with the shuttle running, but none bought on 25 September was on file to land that soon.

Archive edition. Researched 25 September 2026; harmonised to the current house standard 30 September 2026. Evidence to 30 September 2026; facts refreshed 30 September 2026.

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Live exhibits

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Exhibit X05 · Decision Brief No. 023
Large tankers sat at Al Muajjiz on 10 of 11 images before the halt
Sentinel-2 images, 1 Aug to 20 Sep 2026 · Strature count

Dashed line: All 3 berths · 3

01 Aug3
06 Aug0
11 Aug1
16 Aug2
18 Aug1
21 Aug1
26 Aug2
31 Aug3
05 Sep3
07 Sep3
10 Sep2
20 Sep0
large tankers at berth
Large tankers sat at Al Muajjiz on 10 of 11 images before the halt: the data
Itemlarge tankers at berth
01 Aug3
06 Aug0
11 Aug1
16 Aug2
18 Aug1
21 Aug1
26 Aug2
31 Aug3
05 Sep3
07 Sep3
10 Sep2
20 Sep0
SourceStrature count; contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2026; berth positions from OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database Licence (ODbL).CreditStrature count; contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2026; berth positions © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database Licence (ODbL).LicenceStrature's own count on Copernicus Sentinel data (free, full and open; attribution: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2026); berth positions from OpenStreetMap under the ODbL. Redistributable with this notice: Strature count; contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2026; berth positions © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database Licence (ODbL).How to read this plateThe accent: none. The dashed line is the datum each bar is read against.DataDownload the data (CSV)Strature
Since publication

What has changed since the research, dated.

Registered forecasts are never changed: they stay as issued and are scored as registered. Facts found after the research date are listed here with their date and source.

No forecast is registered with this edition.

Facts since the research date

  1. 25 Sep 2026

    Kpler put Saudi crude exports for September at 6 mb/d, against 3.4 in August.

    CNBC, 25 Sep 2026 (Kpler data), retrieved 30 Sep 2026

  2. 28 Sep 2026

    Kpler put Saudi exports on track for about 5.4 mb/d in September, from 2.446 in August, with Ras Tanura at about 3.25. The same tracker's figures differ between the two reports; both are printed, neither is preferred.

    Reuters via BOE Report, 28 Sep 2026, retrieved 30 Sep 2026

  3. 28 Sep 2026

    19 VLCCs carrying about 2 million barrels of Saudi oil each left the Strait of Hormuz in the week before, on transponder tracking.

    Reuters via BOE Report, 28 Sep 2026 (Kpler data)

  4. 28 Sep 2026

    Crude through Hormuz reached a seven-day average of 13.5 mb/d, which Kpler describes as the pre-war baseline; crude and products together were about 80% of it. Condition 4, collapsed flow, is now contested on barrels as well as ship counts.

    CNBC, 30 Sep 2026 (Kpler data), retrieved 30 Sep 2026

  5. 27–29 Sep 2026

    Yanbu tanker loadings resumed: imagery of 27 September showed nearly 10 million barrels of crude loading at Yanbu and Al Muajjiz, and Reuters reported crude loadings at about 2 mb/d. The September pattern with Yanbu halted no longer describes the present.

    Reuters via MarineLink and Pipeline & Gas Journal, 29 Sep 2026 (TankerTrackers.com imagery)

  6. 29 Sep 2026

    Reuters reported East-West pipeline throughput at about 2 mb/d, and Kpler at 2.65, expected to rise to 3–4 in the coming days; a return to the pre-attack rate of about 5.5 could take another month (Kpler). No figure states whether it counts pumping or delivery to Yanbu, so none of the three readings is settled.

    Reuters via MarineLink, 29 Sep 2026

  7. 28 Sep 2026

    Reuters reported that Aramco had notified customers of its October loading schedule from Yanbu; grades were not reported. Crude loadings at Sidi Kerir resumed on 22 September after a 10-day pause.

    Reuters via MarineLink, 29 Sep 2026 (Kpler note for Sidi Kerir)

  8. 30 Sep 2026

    CNBC reported that Iran had offered to reopen Hormuz within seven days if the United States returned to the June memorandum of understanding, and that the US President rejected the offer.

    CNBC, 30 Sep 2026

  9. 30 Sep 2026

    Unchanged on re-reading: the seafarers' Hormuz war-area listing runs to 8 October; the UK P&I Club's prior-approval terms for Hormuz transits stand.

    IBF list via IMEC; UK P&I Club Circular 05/26; both retrieved 30 Sep 2026

  10. 30 Sep 2026

    This edition carries no registered forecast. The source edition's working assumptions are not probabilities and are not in the forecast register; no new forecast is issued here.

    Strature forecast register; SCE-1 ratification record

No new forecast is issued with these facts; a new view would be a new, separately dated forecast.

Strature GPS · Questions this brief answers

11 questions answered, each on the map.

Each answer is quoted verbatim from the brief, with the section that answers it and the countries it touches. Answers with a register ID are our estimates, scored when they resolve; the others are the brief’s reading of the evidence, not forecasts.

Answered in: Answer

GeopoliticalGeoeconomic30 Sep 2026

If the Strait of Hormuz stays closed, how much Saudi crude can reach buyers, and for how long?

“74–196 million barrels could leave Saudi Arabia in six weeks with the shuttle running, but none bought on 25 September was on file to land that soon.”

The brief’s reading of the evidence; not a registered forecast.

Primary Saudi Arabia Affected Japan, Republic of Korea, China, India, Islamic Republic of Iran, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Yemen, United States of America

Answered in: 01. Five separate conditions make up a closure

Geopolitical30 Sep 2026

What does a closed Strait of Hormuz mean for buyers, shippers and insurers?

“Here ‘closed’ means conditions 2, 3 and 4 persisting, the ones buyers' contracts and insurance respond to, with the shuttle running.”

The brief’s reading of the evidence; not a registered forecast.

Primary Saudi Arabia Affected Islamic Republic of Iran, United States of America, Oman

Answered in: 03. Two routes carry nearly all Saudi crude

Geoeconomic30 Sep 2026

Which routes can Saudi crude take out with Hormuz closed?

“Each capacity is quoted on its own basis, and we never add them. The pipeline's nameplate is about 7 mb/d (Saudi Ministry of Energy), a ceiling, not a flow.”

The brief’s reading of the evidence; not a registered forecast.

Primary Saudi Arabia Affected Oman, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Yemen

Answered in: 04. Only the Hormuz route carried Arab Medium and Heavy

Geoeconomic30 Sep 2026

Which Saudi crude grades were offered on each route?

“No grade offer on file named October or later, and volume by grade is not published.”

The brief’s reading of the evidence; not a registered forecast.

Primary Saudi Arabia Affected Oman, United Arab Emirates, Egypt

Answered in: 05. Ships going dark best explains the 23 July break

GeopoliticalGeotechnology30 Sep 2026

Why did ship tracking lose sight of Yanbu loadings after 23 July?

“Any count built on transponder signals cannot log a ship that has switched its transponder off at a berth.”

The brief’s reading of the evidence; not a registered forecast.

Primary Saudi Arabia Affected Yemen

Countries in this questionSaudi ArabiaYemen

Answered in: 08. The pipeline's delivery to Yanbu is the widest single uncertainty

Geoeconomic30 Sep 2026

How much Saudi crude can leave if Hormuz stays closed?

“Across the three readings the twelve-month low end spans 350 million barrels and its high end 722; with nothing leaving the Gulf, the high end spans 924.”

The brief’s reading of the evidence; not a registered forecast.

Primary Saudi Arabia

Answered in: 09. At the range's low end, sold cargoes would slip

Geoeconomic30 Sep 2026

Can the Hormuz shuttle carry the crude Saudi Arabia has already sold?

“The low end's shuttle, 0.9 mb/d, fits the smaller sale's remaining pace if it has loaded as stated (0.65–0.97) and falls short of the larger at an even pace unless some loaded early.”

The brief’s reading of the evidence; not a registered forecast.

Primary Saudi Arabia

Answered in: 11. A new buyer's first shuttle cargo could not land in East Asia inside six weeks

Geoeconomic30 Sep 2026

When could a new buyer's first shuttle cargo reach Asian ports?

“Adding the shortest timed voyage (Ulsan 21 days, Zhanjiang 18, Sikka 3), the first cargo reaches Korea after 58 days, China after 55 and India after 40 at the earliest.”

The brief’s reading of the evidence; not a registered forecast.

Primary Saudi Arabia Affected Republic of Korea, China, India

Countries in this questionSaudi ArabiaRepublic of KoreaChinaIndia

Answered in: 12. Japan and Korea loosened their refiners' stock floors in 2026

Geoeconomic30 Sep 2026

How have Japan and Korea changed their refiners' legal oil stock floors?

“Korea cut 40 days of average sales to 20 from 29 May, until separately lifted, as reported by The Korea Times and Newspim; no restoring notice was found in searches to 30 September 2026.”

The brief’s reading of the evidence; not a registered forecast.

Primary Saudi Arabia Affected Japan, Republic of Korea

Countries in this questionSaudi ArabiaJapanRepublic of Korea

Answered in: 13. The shuttle runs on permissions that carry no stated end

Geopolitical30 Sep 2026

How long can the escorted Hormuz shuttle keep running?

“No party running the escort has said how long it lasts; the US commander's statement of 19 September gave no duration.”

The brief’s reading of the evidence; not a registered forecast.

Primary Saudi Arabia Affected United States of America, Islamic Republic of Iran, Yemen

Answered in: 14. Yanbu's tanks are the only modelled buffer

Geoeconomic30 Sep 2026

What does each further week of disruption cost in Saudi exports?

“Once a pattern settles, the tanks run dry wherever ships lift faster than the pipe delivers.”

The brief’s reading of the evidence; not a registered forecast.

Primary Saudi Arabia

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