The Group CEO of ADNOC has called on the world to act together to protect the free flow of energy through the Strait of Hormuz in order to avoid a major economic collapse. He described Iran’s actions in the Strait of Hormuz as an act of “global economic extortion,” and emphasized the impact of the blockade beyond just oil markets.
Traffic at the Strait of Hormuz has been at a near standstill for over a month now, with a limited number of vessels transiting the world’s most critical oil and gas chokepoint at Iran’s discretion.
The halt to 20% of global oil and LNG flows has sent oil and natural gas prices soaring, forced Gulf producers to slash upstream production, and prompted refinery run cuts and fuel export bans across Asia.
In a post on LinkedIn, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber wrote, “Iran’s actions in the 33km-wide Strait of Hormuz are not a regional issue. They represent global economic extortion – a threat the world cannot tolerate… Disrupting Hormuz hits food prices, air fares, energy bills, medicine costs, and much more. This is not about oil supply; it’s about everyday affordability for billions of people”.
Dr. Al Jaber, who has been one of the most vocal critics of Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, called on the international community to uphold UN Security Council Resolution 2817. That resolution, which was adopted on March 11th after 13 members voted in favor while Russia and China abstained, calls for the protection of freedom of navigation through international waterways.
Last month, Dr. Al Jaber slammed Iran’s “weaponization” of the energy and trade flows through the Strait of Hormuz as economic terrorism against every nation in the world.
“Weaponizing the Strait of Hormuz is not an act of aggression against one nation. It is economic terrorism against every nation. And no country should be allowed to hold Hormuz hostage, not now, not ever,” he said at the CERAWeek conference in Houston.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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