The world has lost about 1 billion barrels of oil over the past two months and energy markets will take time to stabilise even if flows resume, Saudi Aramco’s CEO has said, as shipping disruptions choke traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reports.

“Our objective is simple: keep energy flowing, even when the system is under strain,” Amin Nasser told Reuters in a statement after Aramco reported a 25pc jump in net profit in its first quarter.

“Reopening routes is not the same as normalising a market that has been deprived of about one billion barrels of oil,” Nasser said, adding that years of underinvestment have compounded the strain on already-low global inventories.

Aramco has used its East-West Pipeline to bypass Hormuz and transport crude to the Red Sea, an asset Nasser described as a “critical lifeline” to mitigate the global supply crisis.