Oil Holds Near $102 as Shale Restrains Supply Amid Hormuz Risks, Falling US Demand

WTI crude remains flat near $102/bbl and Brent near $110/bbl as US shale producers resist ramping output despite prices above $100, offsetting sharp US demand declines amid the Iran conflict. Iran's April 13 blockade slashed Gulf exports from 20M bpd to 1M bpd, creating an 8-10M bpd deficit per Treasury Secretary Bessent; US exports hit record 6.4M bpd while OPEC+ hiked June output by 188k bpd. On May 4, Project Freedom deployed 15,000 US personnel, 100+ aircraft and destroyers to shadow Hormuz convoys despite unverified Iranian strikes on a US warship and UAE tanker; Chevron warns of imminent shortages as demand destruction accelerates.