Aramco CEO says the oil market’s safety cushion is running thin

Oil inventories are the market’s shock absorber: stored crude and fuel can bridge a gap when production or shipping is disrupted. Amin Nasser, Aramco’s chief executive, says that cushion has been depleted to a stress level, with stocks used to cover some of the supply lost during recent disruptions. Releasing emergency reserves can keep fuel moving for a while, but it does not create new supply or restore normal transport. His warning is that even once flows normalize, rebuilding inventories while serving everyday demand could take up to two years—meaning the market would have less protection if another disruption hits.