Covert Mideast Oil Flows Are Keeping Global Prices in Check

By Alex Longley, Anthony Di Paola, Grant Smith and Weilun Soon

Aug 16, 2026(Bloomberg) –Middle Eastern oil producers are pressing ahead with shuttling large volumes of crude out of the Persian Gulf, helping keep a lid on prices and assuaging fears of an energy-driven inflation spike, even as the Iran war drags on.

The trade of ferrying oil through the Strait of Hormuz undetected to transfer the barrels onto tankers in the Gulf of Oman is running at full tilt, despite recent attacks on vessels, people with knowledge of the shipments said. 

The incognito crossings of the world’s most vital energy