Reports emerged as early as Monday that Saudi oil giant Aramco had started reducing oil production<\/a> at two fields as the disruption around the Strait of Hormuz starts to choke off crude exports from the Gulf.\u00a0<\/p>\n Saudi Arabia has some capacity to re-direct exports to the Red Sea to bypass the Strait of Hormuz using its east-west pipeline network. However, the pipeline volumes are a fraction of crude flows lost with Hormuz effectively closed.\u00a0<\/p>\n Related: Little-Known US Company Lands Important Pentagon Contract in Rare Earth Race<\/a><\/p>\n Iraq, OPEC\u2019s second-largest producer behind Saudi Arabia, is also slashing output, by about 2.9 million bpd, according to Bloomberg\u2019s sources.\u00a0<\/p>\n Production cuts in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) currently amount to 500,000 bpd-800,000 bpd, while Kuwait has slashed output by about 500,000 bpd, said the sources who declined to be identified due to the fact they are discussing confidential data.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n At Aramco\u2019s Q4 earnings call on Tuesday, CEO Amin Nasser declined to discuss Saudi production levels, although the executive warned<\/a> of \u201ccatastrophic consequences\u201d for the oil market and global economy if the halt to Strait of Hormuz traffic continues.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday sought to reassure markets and claimed the war will end soon, but Iran on Tuesday vowed<\/a> not to let \u201ca litre\u201d of oil to be exported from the Middle East until the United States and Israel stop bombing it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cTrump\u2019s words will only go so far. Ultimately, the market will need to see a resumption of oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz to sustain a move lower in oil prices,\u201d ING\u2019s commodities strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey said in a Tuesday note<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cFailing that, we are unlikely to have seen the highs yet.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/book.jpg\"\/)
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