EIA says oil flows through Strait of Hormuz fell nearly 30% in first quarter

# EIA says oil flows through Strait of Hormuz fell nearly 30% in first quarter

*Event date: 2026-05-13*

Oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz fell sharply in the first quarter of 2026, according to an Anadolu report citing U.S. Energy Information Administration data.

The packet gives one hard number: crude oil, condensate and petroleum product flows through the waterway declined to 14.6 million barrels per day in January through March. The excerpt says that represented a drop of nearly 30% from the previous quarter. That is the central fact that can be stated from the supplied evidence.

The significance of the figure is obvious. The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's most important energy chokepoints, so even a quarterly decline of that scale points to major changes in shipping behavior, route availability or market disruption. The evidence packet does not spell out the causes, but the headline itself ties the decrease to EIA analysis, which suggests the issue is being tracked not merely as a diplomatic talking point but as a measurable market shift.

Because the available excerpt is short, the reporting has to stay disciplined. It does not identify which countries' exports or imports account for the change, nor does it state whether the reduction reflects shipping rerouting, vessel delays, blockade effects or lower volumes of a specific fuel stream. Those details are not in the packet and should not be inferred.

What the supplied material does support is a broad interpretation that the Hormuz corridor was moving substantially less oil in the first quarter than in the prior period. For energy markets, that kind of decline can translate quickly into higher freight costs, inventory pressure and volatility in futures pricing, especially if buyers and shippers believe the disruption could last.

The figure also connects to a larger Middle East shipping story running through this batch. Other items in the packet describe attacks on tankers, U.S. actions against Iranian vessels, and talk of reopening or protecting the strait. Against that backdrop, the EIA-linked decline is more than a one-off statistic: it is evidence that the world's most sensitive maritime energy lane was already under strain.

Still, the article should remain careful. The AP-style discipline here is to report the verified metric, identify the source as the EIA through the Anadolu item, and avoid over-reading the single data point. The strongest conclusion is that flows through Hormuz were down almost a third in the first quarter, reaching 14.6 million barrels per day, and that the drop was substantial enough to draw public attention in the middle of regional shipping tension.