US Navy Holds Hormuz Open While Scientists Chase Plastic-to-Hydrogen Alternative
US naval escorts sustaining 6.5 million barrels a day through Hormuz have given fresh urgency to hydrogen alternatives that had stalled commercially.
About 6.5 million barrels of oil a day were exiting the Persian Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz under US naval escort in the week ending Thursday (2026-07-30), Rigzone reported, as Washington deployed warships to keep the world's most important oil passage functioning during ongoing Middle East hostilities.7
ICE Brent crude front-month sat at $83.44 a barrel as of Thursday (2026-08-06), recovering from a sharp post-ceasefire selloff but still nearly $18 below the month's high. During the week of July 20 (2026-07-20), Brent surged above $102 as pressure on both Gulf chokepoints mounted simultaneously. The market then shed more than 8% in a single session to below $88 on Monday (2026-07-27), after the United States and Iran announced a pause in hostilities to create diplomatic space, NBC News reported.6,4
The disruption behind Hormuz runs deep. Before the third Gulf war, roughly 20% of the world's oil passed through the strait, and analysts now estimate 10 to 15% of global supply remains trapped in the Gulf. Vortexa, the ship-tracker, counted 125 product tankers — about 5% of the global fleet — stranded inside. Refinery processing cuts of 5 to 15% have spread across China, India, Japan and Thailand, with further reductions elsewhere.1
At the southern Red Sea, the picture deteriorated separately. Kpler data showed just 21 commodity vessels crossing Bab el-Mandeb in either direction on Wednesday (2026-07-29), down from 38 on Tuesday (2026-07-28), with only Russian crude making the transit. Tanker rates on the corridor reached 465 Worldscale points, close to $500,000 per day.7
Saudi Arabia is particularly exposed at that southern chokepoint. Riyadh had diverted roughly 70% of its energy exports through the Red Sea port of Yanbu. Bab el-Mandeb handles around 7% of the world's energy trade. A MarineTraffic analyst said on Wednesday (2026-07-22) that the "Bab el-Mandeb risk picture is deteriorating," after Houthi rebels declared their intent to impose a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia, NBC News reported.3,4
The Gulf's supply reach extends well beyond crude oil. The Economist noted that 22% of the world's traded urea, 24% of its aluminium, a third of its helium and 45% of its sulphur originate in the region. Europe sourced 69% of its jet-fuel imports from the Gulf or Asia in 2025. Few of these supply chains have fast substitutes.1
The sustained disruption has revived interest in longer-term energy alternatives. UCLA scientists developed a process to convert plastic waste into pure hydrogen fuel, Oilprice.com reported on July 25 (2026-07-25), renewing attention to a technology that had essentially collapsed as a commercial proposition before the current conflict. Green hydrogen had been promoted as a decarbonization solution for hard-to-abate sectors like shipping and steelmaking before failing to attract sustained investment at scale.5
The deployment record remains discouraging. A study tracking 190 projects over three years found only 7% of global hydrogen capacity announcements were completed on schedule, Oilprice.com reported. UCLA's plastic-to-hydrogen process adds a new feedstock angle to the research pipeline. But it does nothing to address the near-term supply problem bearing down on refiners from Thailand to Europe.5
US Central Command restarted its blockade of all Iranian shipping and ports on Tuesday (2026-07-14), after the earlier ceasefire and memorandum of understanding broke down, Foreign Policy reported. The US-Iran pause announced on Monday (2026-07-27) followed 13 consecutive nights of attacks, NBC News reported. Hormuz traffic has picked up since, but escort operations over a contested strait are a fragile arrangement — the Bab el-Mandeb vessel count was still falling as of Wednesday (2026-07-29), and Houthi intent toward Saudi Arabia's Red Sea ports has not changed.2,67