IEA: The Strait of Hormuz shock is the largest oil supply disruption in the history of the global market

The International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a fresh analysis that the disruption from the Strait of Hormuz crisis has become the largest oil supply loss in the history of the global market, exceeding both the 1973 oil embargo and the 1990 Persian Gulf War shock in combined volume and duration.

According to the assessment, oil transiting the strait fell from about 20 million barrels a day before the war to an average of roughly 2.7 million barrels a day over March to May 2026, while cumulative supply losses from regional producers have passed 1.3 billion barrels. After hostilities resumed in July, tanker transits dropped below 10 percent of pre-war levels.

The agency's head called it the greatest global energy security challenge in history. Before the crisis, the Strait of Hormuz carried about one-fifth of the world's oil and a large share of its LNG.