Oil flows nearly tripled before US-Iran MoU expired, analysis shows

What the report says

Al Jazeera reported that oil traffic through the Strait of Hormuz rose sharply while a 60-day memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran was in force, but still stayed below pre-war levels. Citing Kpler ship-tracking data, the story said about 374 million barrels of oil left the Gulf during the agreement period, averaging roughly 6.1 million barrels a day, compared with about 2.3 million barrels a day in the months before the deal was signed on June 17.

The article said the MoU has now expired without a peace agreement, following stalled talks between Washington and Tehran. It noted that more than half of the oil shipments occurred in the first three weeks, after which flows weakened again. Kpler estimated that volumes reached only about 40% of the roughly 15 million barrels that passed through the strait each day in 2025.

The report also placed the shipping data in the context of continued attacks on commercial vessels in the chokepoint, including an incident this week that killed one seafarer aboard a cargo ship off Oman, according to UKMTO and industry groups. The Strait of Hormuz remains strategically important because it is a major route for global energy supplies, and market analysts quoted by Al Jazeera said confidence in safe passage remains fragile despite official assurances.