Oil executives warn global stockpiles leave little cushion against supply shocks

Global oil inventories are becoming a thinner buffer against further supply disruptions, energy executives told a London industry forum. More than 1 billion barrels have been drawn from mainly onshore commercial stocks since the Middle East crisis began, according to Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser, who said most of the remaining commercial inventory is not readily available to the market. That does not mean storage is empty: some oil is operationally inaccessible, tied up in pipelines or held back by minimum-stock rules. But with oil demand still running at about 102 million barrels a day, reduced reserves leave less room to absorb another shock. The International Energy Agency is preparing a 100-million-barrel release of crude and diesel; Reuters reported that it remains unclear whether this includes volumes from an earlier release that have not yet reached the market. Source: [Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/world-has-nearly-burned-through-its-oil-stockpile-buffer-executives-say-2026-10-06/)