The Price of Extracting Oil from the Gulf: $30 of Every Barrel Goes to Shipping and Insurance

Despite Iranian attacks, oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz continue at high volumes, but the risk involved in transit has increased shipping and insurance costs by 20 times compared to the pre-war period. For a barrel of oil worth about $100, Gulf oil exporters receive only about $70, with the remainder going to shipping and insurance companies. This is according to data from the oil exporter cartel OPEC. In September, oil exports from the Gulf reached a peak of 18.9 million barrels per day, a level similar to pre-war exports, excluding Iran. In October, export volumes slightly decreased to 17.1 million barrels per day. The price of Brent crude hovers around $100, after a peak of over $110. Shipping and insurance costs have surged 20-fold to tens of dollars per barrel, and shipping companies like South Korea's 'Sinokor' conduct oil transfers with transmitters and lights turned off. According to OPEC, the high costs are passed on to the entire value chain and add inflationary pressures on the global economy.