Iran war to throttle oil flows even if Strait of Hormuz reopens soon

MoneyWatch Iran war will throttle oil flows even if Strait of Hormuz reopens soon, analysis predicts .chip { background-image: url('/fly/bundles/cbsnewscore/images/chip-bgd/chip-bgd-moneywatch.jpg'); } By Alain Sherter Alain Sherter Senior Managing Editor, MoneyWatch Alain Sherter is a senior managing editor with CBS News. He covers business, economics, money and workplace issues for CBS MoneyWatch. Read Full Bio Alain Sherter Updated on: April 6, 2026 / 4:07 PM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google The Iran war will continue to disrupt global oil supplies even if a ceasefire in the region leads to a swift reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, according to a new analysis.  Henning Gloystein, managing director of energy, industry and resources at geopolitical risk consultancy Eurasia Group, said it would take several months to repair oil refineries and other energy infrastructure in the Persian Gulf that have been damaged in the conflict. Shipping companies that operate oil tankers in the region would also take at least two months to resume operations if the war is suspended, he added in a report on Monday.The Strait of Hormuz remains virtually closed to oil tankers and other ship traffic, a United Nations panel said in a report on Monday. Ship transits dropped from roughly 130 per day in February to six in March, according to the group."In a visible sign of the scale of the disruption, there are currently at least 70 large empty crude oil tankers anchored off the eastern coast of Singapore and Malaysia," Gloystein said. "Collectively, these tankers have the capacity to hold at least 100 million barrels of crude oil, which would usually be picked up in the Gulf region and delivered to refineries across Asia."  Map shows the Strait of Hormuz and its role in transporting oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the Middle East to global markets via the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. Murat Usubali/Anadolu via Getty Images "The voyage from Singapor...