Oil and LNG Flows Surge Through the Strait of Hormuz as US Naval Ops Clear the Way

For the first time in half a year, the twin lanes of the Strait of Hormuz have been buzzing with oil tankers and LNG carriers alike. Admiral Brad Cooper, who heads the U.S. Central Command, summed it up in a video message on Saturday: the momentum is finally building again.

He noted that the main transit routes are now clear of mines, and that Gulf allies have shipped over a billion barrels of crude in just the last couple of months. Those numbers, he said, dwarf anything we’ve seen since the spring‑time surge in drone‑driven disruptions that briefly shut a Saudi pipeline bypassing the strait.

Iran, of course, continues to claim it has sealed the waterway, while talks on a mutually‑agreed shipping corridor have stalled. The rhetoric hasn’t stopped, but the steel‑clad reality on the water is changing.

Early Saturday morning, Riyadh was jolted by two air‑raid alerts – the first since the height of the U.S.–Iran clashes earlier this year. According to the Wall Street Journal, an airstrike ignited jet‑fuel tanks at King Khalid International Airport, sending a plume of black smoke into the sky.

Houthi rebels, backed by Tehran, boasted they used missiles and drones to hit two Saudi sites, including the capital. The group framed the assault as retaliation for Saudi air campaigns in Yemen. Saudi air‑defence systems, however, managed to intercept a ballistic missile aimed at Riyadh and thwarted further attacks on civilian targets, such as the Red Sea oil hub of Yanbu.

The U.S. State Department issued a warning that the skirmishes could spiral, urging Americans to anticipate possible flight cancellations and to think twice about traveling to the region.

Energy markets feel the pressure. President Trump’s administration, already wrestling with soaring gasoline and diesel prices in a mid‑term election year, has repeatedly highlighted the surge in tanker traffic as a positive sign. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told reporters on Sept. 13 that the world still relies on roughly 10 million barrels a day of crude and oil products flowing through Hormuz – “tighter than we’d like today, but not overly tight,” he added.

Cooper emphasized that the United States, together with Gulf partners, insurers and shipping firms, is pushing to keep the flow growing. “The effort is paying off,” he said. “The volume of crude oil, cargo, and liquid natural gas these past two weeks is higher than at any point in the past six months.”

Meanwhile, Iran’s own exports remain at zero, as U.S. sanctions effectively block its ability to ship oil through the strait.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, has found itself under renewed fire this September. Houthis claimed responsibility for a series of missile and drone strikes that have hit western towns, energy infrastructure, and even a pipeline that originated in Iraq, a country home to several Tehran‑aligned militias.

These attacks have not been isolated. In the past month, the Houthis have struck almost daily, with a recent assault on Taif leaving one dead and several injured. They have also declared a blockade of Saudi vessels in the Red Sea, targeting ships that use the waterway as an alternative export route after the Hormuz bottleneck.

All told, the picture is mixed. While the physical lanes of the strait are clearing and shipments are climbing, the geopolitical tinderbox remains very much alive.