Offshore oil inventories are rapidly depleting, and upward pressure on oil prices is accumulating.

Golden Ten Data reported on March 20 that, as supply in the Persian Gulf has been restricted for the third consecutive week, buyers are forced to seek alternative sources, and the volume of oil stored offshore is rapidly decreasing. If the United States advances Treasury Secretary Besant's proposal on Thursday to lift sanctions on Iran's offshore oil, these reserves may decrease even faster. Since the outbreak of the US-Israel-Iran war, offshore storage of crude oil and condensate has been decreasing by 1.8 million barrels per day, one of the fastest rates in years. According to data intelligence company Vortexa, current inventories are about 78 million barrels, with about one-third coming from Iran. Later last year, offshore floating oil storage increased rapidly, reaching a peak of over 140 million barrels at the end of November. This was due to the US pressuring India to avoid Russian oil and the acceleration of Iranian exports as geopolitical tensions worsened. Since then, these inventories have nearly halved. As the buffer becomes increasingly thin, unless the Strait of Hormuz is reopened quickly, oil prices may rise even faster.