Restoring crude oil market equilibrium will take a year if not longer, Shell CEO says

LONDON, June 10 (Reuters) - Restoring a balanced crude oil market amid heavy inventory drawdowns will take a year and possibly longer, Shell CEO Wael Sawan said on Wednesday.

• Sawan told a conference that over 10% of global crude oil production is out due to the Iran war.

• Sawan said Chinese energy imports have come down because China could draw on its inventories.

• The Shell CEO said that while inventory drawdowns were helping the global market right now, they amounted to "borrowing from the future" and there was a deficit of 1.2 billion barrels of crude at the moment.

• Sawan said that it would take "close to a year, if not longer" for the market to find its equilibrium again, and until then the stress levels would continue in the system "for quite some time."

• The market has encouraged jet fuel production but at some point diesel pricing will mean diesel production will be prioritised over jet fuel, he said.

(Reporting by Shadia NasrallaEditing by Tomasz Janowski)