'Brent will shoot up': US energy executives warn of massive oil supply crunch

'Brent will shoot up': US energy executives warn of massive oil supply crunch Submitted by Sean Mathews on Thu, 05/28/2026 - 21:31 Energy executives say the world is weeks away from oil hitting $150 per barrel, with government and private industry reserves depleted Iranians drive past a billboard featuring US President Donald Trump and the Strait of Hormuz, erected in Valiasr Square in Tehran, Iran, on 28 May 2026 (AFP) Off Executives from the largest US energy companies warned on Thursday that oil prices are likely to spike this summer, as the buffers the US and other western countries used to mitigate the impact of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz run dry. “We're approaching unheard of inventory levels. I mean, really, really low levels. You can debate whether that's going to hit those really low levels in two weeks or three weeks. Once you get to that point, then you'll see [the] price shoot up,” Neil Chapman, a senior vice president at ExxonMobil, said on Thursday at a conference organised by the investment bank, Bernstein. “I think dated Brent, most people, well, a model would say dated Brent will shoot up. Once you get to that really low inventory level, up to $150, $160,” he added. Chevron chief executive Mike Wirth warned at the same event that the “buffers and the shock absorbers” that have kept oil prices in check “are being steadily drawn down”. “Over the next few weeks, we’re likely to see those pressures flow through more directly to physical prices, and there’s more upwards pressure that I would expect as we get into June and certainly into July,” he said. “If this goes on for long, it tips us into an economic slowdown or a recession,” he added. Brent, the int...

Original source: Middle East Eye