Shell and Equinor: energy market shock absorbers weakening

Global energy markets face a lengthening period of tight supply and price volatility as the industry's ability to offset disruptions from the Middle East is dwindling, senior executives from Shell and Equinor said on Wednesday.

Attacks on oil tankers in the Middle East helped push crude prices towards $110 a barrel this week for the first time since May. Refined products have risen even more sharply, with fuels such as diesel reaching record highs.

Still, the market's ability to adapt and absorb supply disruptions since the start of the war with Iran in late February has been impressive, Adam Ritchie, Chief Economist at Shell Trading, told an industry conference in Oslo.

According to Shell's calculations, the world has lost about 36 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas, equivalent to the combined imports of Britain and France last year, as well as 1.6 billion barrels of crude oil and condensates, he said.