RIYADH: The escalating conflict in the Middle East may force Gulf oil producers to stop exports in a matter of weeks, driving up crude prices to $150 per barrel, according to Qatar’s energy minister.
Saad Al-Kaabi warned in an interview released on Friday that if ships and tankers were unable to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important oil export route, which links the largest Gulf oil producers with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, oil could reach the figure in two to three weeks.
Beginning with strikes on Iran on February 28, hostilities between US-Israeli troops and Iran have caused extensive disruption throughout the area, resulting in the suspension of many state airspaces and the virtual blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Everyone that has not called for force majeure we expect will do so in the next few days that this continues,” Al-Kaabi told the Financial Times. All Gulf exporters will have to declare force majeure.
The minister anticipates that gas prices will increase to $40 per million British thermal units in addition to the $150-per-barrel oil price warning. GDP growth around the world” will be affected, he continued, if the conflict lasts for several weeks.
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