Global energy markets may take as many as four months to rebalance, with gasoline and diesel inventories still constrained by shipping worries in the Strait of Hormuz, TotalEnergies SE Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanné said on Saturday.
"There is a lack of oil products, the lack of petrol and diesel," Pouyanné said during a panel discussion at Rencontres Economiques conference in Aix-en-Provence. "The stocks are quite low, and the price of petrol and diesel is still today at an equivalent of 85 or $90 a barrel."
His warning comes as broader market pressures intensify, with geopolitical risks and shipping constraints still shaping global price dynamics. Markets have struggled to stabilize as shipping disruptions and fragile US–Iran diplomacy pressure prices and sentiment.
But with tight inventories and slow tanker recovery, producers are dumping stockpiled crude at heavy discounts, driving benchmarks to multi‑month lows. Analysts now warn the market could tip into a glut heading into next year.
"Middle Eastern producers have built up such large inventories that they are now desperate to sell their oil," Pouyanné said. "At the same time, there are difficulties getting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz because many shipowners are still unwilling to take the risk. As a result, producers are heavily discounting their crude, and prices are collapsing."
