Kuwait declares force majeure

Kuwait has declared force majeure on some oil shipments, saying disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz have made it unable to meet certain delivery obligations. (bloomberg.com) State-run Kuwait Petroleum Corp. notified customers on April 17, according to documents reported by Bloomberg and follow-up coverage published April 21 and April 22. The notice covered crude oil and refined products and reflected problems getting vessels into the Gulf. (bloomberg.com) (zawya.com) (businesskorea.co.kr) Force majeure is a contract clause that lets a seller suspend performance when events outside its control make delivery impossible. South Korea’s industry ministry said April 21 that Kuwait had begun notifying Korean refiners and that Seoul expected only limited additional impact because Kuwaiti flows had already been disrupted. (koreaherald.com) The immediate issue is geography. The Strait of Hormuz is the narrow sea passage between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula, and the International Energy Agency says about 20 million barrels a day of crude oil and oil products moved through it in 2025. (iea.org) That makes Kuwait unusually exposed. The International Energy Agency says Kuwait, along with Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain and Iran, relies on the strait for the vast majority of its oil exports, while bypass options in the region are limited to about 3.5 million to 5.5 million barrels a day. (iea.org) The waterway is small enough that any security scare can ripple through global trade. At its narrowest point it is 29 nautical miles wide, with 2-mile-wide shipping channels in each direction, according to the International Energy Agency. (iea.org) The U.S. Energy Information Administration says the strait carried 20.9 million barrels a day in the first half of 2025, or roughly a quarter of world maritime oil trade. Most of those barrels head to Asia, which is why refiners in South Korea, Japan, China and India are watching Kuwaiti notices closely. (eia.gov) (iea.org) Shipping companies have already been rerouting and slowing decisions. Maersk said on April 9 that bookings were suspended for several Gulf destinations, including Kuwait, and that any Hormuz transit would depend on continuous security assessments even after a temporary ceasefire. (maersk.com) The broader market backdrop is already strained. In its April 14 Oil Market Report, the International Energy Agency said global oil supply fell by 10.1 million barrels a day in March to 97 million barrels a day, calling the Hormuz restrictions the largest disruption in history. (iea.org) Kuwait’s notice does not mean every cargo stops at once, but it tells buyers that contractual protection is now in effect while tanker access remains uncertain. The next test is whether transit normalizes fast enough for Kuwait to clear delayed shipments without a longer squeeze on Asian refiners and oil prices. (bloomberg.com) (maersk.com)