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Strait of Hormuz Oil, LNG Flows Decline in Q1 2026; China Holds Largest Strategic Oil Inventories, EIA Says

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Crude and petroleum product flows through the Strait of Hormuz fell to 14.6 million barrels per day in Q1, down from 20.7 mmb/d in Q4 2025 and 20.4 mmb/d in Q1 2025, according to the US Energy Information Administration's Global Energy Security data released Wednesday.

On Wednesday, the EIA launched a new quarterly energy security dataset that includes information on global Strategic Petroleum Reserves and petroleum and liquefied natural gas flows through vital shipping chokepoints.

Crude oil and condensate shipments through the Strait of Hormuz declined to 10.7 mmb/d in Q1 from 15.2 mmb/d in Q4 2025 and 14.3 mmb/d in Q1 2025, the data showed.

Energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz have been constricted following the US-Israel joint campaign against Iran that started on Feb. 28.

Petroleum product volumes through the Strait of Hormuz fell to 3.9 mmb/d, down from 5.5 mmb/d in the previous quarter and 6.1 mmb/d in the year-ago period.

LNG flows through the Strait of Hormuz dropped to 7.3 billion cubic feet per day for the quarter, down from 10.1 Bcf/d in Q4 2025 and 11.7 Bcf/d in Q1 2025.

Meanwhile, energy flows through the Red Sea's Bab el-Mandeb Strait, another vital shipping lane that has faced high security risks from Houthi attacks since late 2023, registered a slight rise.

Flows through the Bab el-Mandeb edged higher on a quarterly basis to 5.4 mmb/d in Q1, up from 5.2 mmb/d in the prior quarter and 3.7 mmb/d in the year-ago period.

Crude oil and condensate flows through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait increased to 3.2 mmb/d in Q1 from 3.1 mmb/d in Q4 2025 and 2 mmb/d in Q1 2025.

Petroleum product shipments through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait totaled 2.2 mmb/d in Q1, while LNG flows reached 2.9 Bcf/d.

Shippers have been opting for longer routes around the Cape of Good Hope since late 2023 to avoid unrest in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. However, oil flows around the Cape declined in Q1 from the previous quarter.

Total oil flows through the Cape of Good Hope fell to 8 mmb/d in Q1 from 9.6 mmb/d in Q4 2025 and 8.8 mmb/d in Q1 2025.

Total oil flows through the Suez Canal and SUMED pipeline were 4.9 mmb/d for Q1, compared with 5.1 mmb/d in the previous quarter and 3.8 mmb/d in Q1 2025, according to the data.

Meanwhile, the Strait of Malacca remained the world's busiest oil chokepoint in Q1, handling 20.9 mmb/d after reaching 24 mmb/d in Q4 2025.

The EIA said world oil supply totaled 95.4 mmb/d in Q1 2026, down from 108.5 mmb/d in Q3 2025.

The EIA said its strategic oil inventory estimates mainly include government-owned stocks and national oil company holdings, excluding most commercial storage.

China held the largest strategic oil inventories at 1.541 billion barrels in Q1 2026, while the US held 413 million barrels.

The EIA said Japan maintained strategic oil inventories at 263 mmbbls in both Q4 2025 and Q1 2026, while other OECD Europe held 132 mmbbls.

Saudi Arabia raised strategic oil inventories to 88 mmbbls in Q1 from 82 mmbbls in Q4 2025, while France, India and Spain kept reserves unchanged at 33 mmbbls, 21 mmbbls and 12 mmbbls, respectively.

The dataset covers the 10 largest reserve holders, representing about 70% of global totals, and includes estimates for China based on third-party and official data, the EIA said.

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