Strature BriefsTheme BriefNo. 003Edition 1.0 (archive)30 Sep 2026
Theme Brief · The Strait of Hormuz

Was the Strait of Hormuz closed, or repriced cargo by cargo?

Repriced cargo by cargo: by mid-2026 LNG kept under a tenth and crude under a quarter of their late-2025 flow through the Strait, and by 28 September crude, on Kpler's pre-war baseline, was back; products were not.

Archive edition. Researched 3 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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Exhibit X1 · Theme Brief No. 003
LNG kept 8% of its late-2025 Hormuz flow by mid-2026; crude kept 23%
Hormuz flow in 2Q 2026 as a share of 4Q 2025, by cargo (EIA)

Dashed line: 4Q 2025 level

Crude oil and condensate (15.9 to 3.7 mb/d)23.3%
Petroleum products (5.7 to 1.1 mb/d)19.3%
LNG (10.5 to 0.8 Bcf/d)7.6%
92.4 points below
per cent of each cargo's 4Q 2025 flow
LNG kept 8% of its late-2025 Hormuz flow by mid-2026; crude kept 23%: the data
Itemper cent of each cargo's 4Q 2025 flow
Crude oil and condensate (15.9 to 3.7 mb/d)23.3%
Petroleum products (5.7 to 1.1 mb/d)19.3%
LNG (10.5 to 0.8 Bcf/d)7.6%
SourceEIA, Global Energy Security Data, supplement of 12 Aug 2026, re-read 30 Sep 2026. Shares computed by Strature.CreditSource: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Short-Term Energy Outlook data supplement (Aug 2026); EIA analysis based on Vortexa tanker-tracking data, as EIA states (public domain).LicenceUS Energy Information Administration: US Government work, public domain (eia.gov copyrights and reuse, read 30 Sep 2026).How to read this plateThe accent marks the row the exhibit's title is about; the dashed line is the datum each bar is read against.DataDownload the data (CSV)Strature

9 further exhibits stay in the full brief: their source licences do not allow redistribution.

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. 9 Sep 2026

    EIA's September outlook forecast rising Middle East oil production as flows through the Strait gradually increase, with crude production in the region below pre-conflict averages until the second quarter of 2027. Its quarterly Hormuz table still ends at 2Q 2026.

    EIA, Short-Term Energy Outlook, 9 Sep 2026, read 30 Sep 2026

  2. 16 Sep 2026

    The Joint War Committee issued JWLA-035. It keeps the Persian/Arabian Gulf area and Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates listed; Saudi Arabia is now listed as a country, where JWLA-033 listed its Gulf coast and its Red Sea coast excluding transits.

    Joint War Committee, JWLA-033 and JWLA-035, read 30 Sep 2026

  3. 17 Sep 2026

    The IBF list of warlike and risk designations, as of 17 September, was extended until 8 October 2026, with the Strait of Hormuz on it.

    IMEC, IBF risk areas page, read 30 Sep 2026

  4. 26 Sep 2026

    The US President rejected an Iranian plan to reopen the Strait within seven days, according to Al Jazeera.

    Al Jazeera, 26 Sep 2026, read 30 Sep 2026

  5. 28 Sep 2026

    Crude through the Strait reached a seven-day average of 13.5 million barrels a day, matching the pre-war baseline, while refined products ran at 677,000 barrels a day against 3.6 million before the war; about 40 per cent of Gulf crude was bypassing the Strait by pipeline, against 17 per cent before the war. CNBC reported that US military escorts had lifted shipments. Kpler's pre-war baseline (about 17 million barrels a day of crude and products) differs from the IEA's 19.87 million for 2025; both are printed. Kpler's crude baseline (13.5) also differs from EIA's 4Q 2025 crude figure (15.9); both are printed.

    Kpler data via CNBC, 30 Sep 2026, read 30 Sep 2026

  6. 30 Sep 2026

    Correction. The wording on monetizing the Strait is in the US Treasury's press release of 29 July 2026, not, as the source edition said, in Federal Register rule 2026-17426, whose published abstract describes the suspension of five general licences (effective 24 Aug 2026); the rule's full text could not be read on 30 September 2026.

    Federal Register 2026-17426, published abstract; US Treasury, 29 Jul 2026; both read 30 Sep 2026

  7. 30 Sep 2026

    Correction. The 7.5 to 10 per cent war-risk range of July is credited by its carrier, Al Jazeera, to an S&P Global report, not to Marsh as the source edition said.

    Al Jazeera, 23 Jul 2026, read 30 Sep 2026

  8. 30 Sep 2026

    Correction. The nine IEA members the source edition named contributed 344.5 million of the 426 million barrels; 21 further members supplied the rest, not seven. The US offer of political risk insurance was announced on 3 March, according to CRS, not on day six.

    IEA, 19 Mar 2026; CRS R45281, updated 7 Aug 2026; both read 30 Sep 2026

  9. 30 Sep 2026

    Correction. Frontline's filing describes its second-quarter 2026 profit as the best quarterly profit in its history; the source edition said best since 2004. Oil through the Strait was 21.6 million barrels a day in the fourth quarter of 2025; the source's 20.9 is the first quarter of 2025. EIA's data supplement is dated 12 August 2026, not 11 August.

    Frontline 6-K, 28 Aug 2026; EIA, read 30 Sep 2026

  10. 30 Sep 2026

    Correction. Under the published 2025 time-charter war clause, the on-hire sentence covers the events in sub-clause (f); the owners' refusal sits in (b), for which the text states no hire rule. The source edition's clause plate placed the refusal under (f).

    BIMCO, CONWARTIME 2025, read 30 Sep 2026

  11. 30 Sep 2026

    Not carried. A port-call comparison (Saudi Arabia down 15 per cent, Kuwait down 86 per cent) had no publisher traced in the source's record; a statement attributed to the Philippine labour secretary was not found on the page cited; and a second closure dated 11 June was not found in the sources read.

    Source edition's record; BusinessWorld, 27 Apr 2026; CRS R45281; read 30 Sep 2026

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

Strature GPS · Questions this brief answers

19 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 (cover, at a glance, executive summary)

GeoeconomicGeopolitical30 Sep 2026

Was the Strait of Hormuz closed, or repriced cargo by cargo?

“Repriced cargo by cargo: by mid-2026 LNG kept under a tenth and crude under a quarter of their late-2025 flow through the Strait, and by 28 September crude, on Kpler's pre-war baseline, was back; products were not.”

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

Primary Islamic Republic of Iran, Oman Affected Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea

Answered in: 01. Each cargo through the Strait fell by a different amount, so no single closure figure exists

Geoeconomic30 Sep 2026

How much did each cargo through the Strait of Hormuz fall in 2026?

“Crude kept 23.3 per cent of its late-2025 flow, products 19.3 per cent and LNG 7.6 per cent.”

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

Primary Islamic Republic of Iran, Oman Affected Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain

Answered in: 02. The water stayed open to neutral transit on the monitor's August reading, and ships still stopped

GeopoliticalGeoeconomic30 Sep 2026

Was the Strait of Hormuz closed to neutral shipping?

“The Joint Maritime Information Center's Update 082 of 9 August 2026 described traffic at reduced levels across a northern Iranian-controlled route and a southern Omani corridor, and stated that neutral transit was permitted.”

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

Primary Islamic Republic of Iran, Oman

Countries in this questionIslamic Republic of IranOman

Answered in: 03. Only the UAE's working bypass reaches Asia without passing another chokepoint

Geoeconomic30 Sep 2026

Which Gulf exporters have a way to ship oil around the Strait of Hormuz?

“Only Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have operating pipelines around the Strait, on EIA's record: the 5-million-barrel-a-day East-West line to the Red Sea and a 1.5-million line to Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman.”

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

Primary Islamic Republic of Iran, Oman Affected Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain

Answered in: 04. Iran's instrument was routing and charging, and Washington answered with designations and a blockade

Geopolitical30 Sep 2026

How did Iran use the Strait of Hormuz, and how did the United States respond?

“Iran's instrument was routing and charging rather than denial. JMIC recorded directed hails toward the northern route.”

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

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

Answered in: 05. The aggregate cost is small and the distributed cost is not

Geoeconomic30 Sep 2026

Who bears the economic cost of a Hormuz closure?

“On the Kiel Institute's model of a full closure, US welfare falls by 0.07 per cent while losses in South Asia and Africa are 10 to 20 times larger in percentage terms.”

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

Primary Islamic Republic of Iran, Oman Affected United States of America, India, Republic of Korea, Japan, China

Answered in: 06. The largest strategic stock behind the Strait sits outside the IEA's release mechanism

GeoeconomicGeopolitical30 Sep 2026

Could the largest strategic oil stocks behind the Strait be released?

“The two largest strategic holders behind the Strait were not part of it. EIA estimates China's strategic stock at 1,492 million barrels in the second quarter of 2026 and India's at 21 million; neither country is an IEA member.”

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

Primary Islamic Republic of Iran, Oman Affected China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea

Answered in: 07. A sweep of the public record found 154 parties with a stake, and more lose than gain

Geoeconomic30 Sep 2026

Who has a stake in the Strait of Hormuz?

“Rather than choose a reader, the source edition swept nine classes of the public record and found 154 parties with a stake: 59 lose, 39 gain and 56 do both.”

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

Primary Islamic Republic of Iran, Oman

Countries in this questionIslamic Republic of IranOman

Answered in: 08. Gains are reported in filings and losses arrive as notices without a price

Geoeconomic30 Sep 2026

Why are the gains from the Hormuz disruption visible and the losses not?

“The asymmetry comes from disclosure rules, not from the world: a listed company must report its earnings, and nobody must price what a force majeure notice cost them.”

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

Primary Islamic Republic of Iran, Oman Affected Bangladesh

Countries in this questionIslamic Republic of IranOmanBangladesh

Answered in: 09. War cover was quoted in ranges that widened, and no midpoint is drawn

Geoeconomic30 Sep 2026

How much did war-risk insurance for a Hormuz transit cost in 2026?

“Al Jazeera reported on 23 July 2026 that an S&P Global report put war-risk costs at 7.5 to 10 per cent of hull value, from 1 to 3 per cent previously.”

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

Primary Islamic Republic of Iran, Oman

Countries in this questionIslamic Republic of IranOman

Answered in: 10. Cover remained available on the market's own survey, and what changed was its terms

Geoeconomic30 Sep 2026

Was marine war insurance still available for Strait of Hormuz transits?

“The Lloyd's Market Association stated on 23 March 2026 that hull war cover remained available in the Lloyd's and London company market for vessels wishing to transit, and that liability cover through the P&I clubs is non-cancellable.”

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

Primary Islamic Republic of Iran, Oman

Countries in this questionIslamic Republic of IranOman

Answered in: 11. The crew's right to refuse is an operational limit with no published price

GeoeconomicGeopolitical30 Sep 2026

Why does the crew's right to refuse matter for Hormuz shipping?

“A right to refuse is not a price: it withdraws crews one at a time, with no published rate.”

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

Primary Islamic Republic of Iran, Oman Affected India, Philippines

Answered in: 12. The instruments that priced the risk were issued after the first attacks

GeoeconomicGeopolitical30 Sep 2026

How much warning came before the cost of a Hormuz transit changed?

“The longest formal notice found in the record read here is the UK P&I Club's 72 hours, and it ran from midnight GMT on 28 February 2026, the day the US and Israeli attacks on Iran began.”

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

Primary Islamic Republic of Iran, Oman Affected Bahrain, Djibouti, Kuwait, Qatar

Answered in: 13. Urea prices fell back, but the planting decisions were taken near the peak

Geoeconomic30 Sep 2026

Which economies are most exposed to the Gulf fertiliser shock?

“Gulf economies supplied 24.8 per cent of world nitrogenous fertiliser exports and 11.4 per cent of phosphatic exports, on the WTO's figures.”

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

Primary Islamic Republic of Iran, Oman Affected Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, United Republic of Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Brazil, Nepal, Sri Lanka

Answered in: 14. Reopening the water does not restore damaged liquefaction

Geoeconomic30 Sep 2026

Does reopening the Strait restore Qatar's LNG exports?

“Reopening the water restores none of this; a recovery read only as a transit problem would be waiting for something that is not in transit.”

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

Primary Islamic Republic of Iran, Oman Affected Qatar

Countries in this questionIslamic Republic of IranOmanQatar

Answered in: 15. Four futures, each defined by the observation that would retire it

GeopoliticalGeoeconomic30 Sep 2026

What futures does the brief set out for the Strait of Hormuz?

“On 30 September 2026 none of the four had been retired: crude had recovered while LNG had no newer EIA figure, and JWLA-035 of 16 September still listed the Gulf.”

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

Primary Islamic Republic of Iran, Oman

Countries in this questionIslamic Republic of IranOman

Answered in: 16. The standard war clause bills charterers for war costs and leaves refusal to the owner

Geoeconomic30 Sep 2026

Does the standard time-charter war clause set hire when an owner refuses to proceed?

“The clause's on-hire sentence is keyed to (f), and its text states no hire rule for a refusal under (b).”

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

Primary Islamic Republic of Iran, Oman

Countries in this questionIslamic Republic of IranOman

Answered in: 19. Qatari plant damage, liability pricing and the latest JMIC reading lie outside this brief

Geoeconomic30 Sep 2026

What does the brief not establish about the Strait of Hormuz?

“This brief does not establish the physical state of Qatari liquefaction.”

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

Primary Islamic Republic of Iran, Oman

Countries in this questionIslamic Republic of IranOman

Answered in: Since publication (and one-page sheet takeaway 4)

Geoeconomic30 Sep 2026

Had Hormuz crude flows recovered by late September 2026?

“By 28 September crude was back at Kpler's pre-war baseline; products were 677 kb/d against 3.6 mb/d before the war (Kpler data via CNBC).”

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

Primary Islamic Republic of Iran, Oman

Countries in this questionIslamic Republic of IranOman
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