Saudi Arabia leads efforts to stabilize global energy supplies amid warnings of prolonged conflict
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is spearheading international efforts to stabilize global oil markets and contain the fallout from a supply crisis triggered by the Iran war and the halt to navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
Using strategic logistics infrastructure, Riyadh has secured energy flows to consumers and helped prevent prices from soaring, as academic and industry warnings mount that the conflict’s structural impact on oil facilities and refineries could last for years, even if the war ends militarily and the strait reopens.
Ibrahim Al-Mohanna, adviser to the Saudi energy minister, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Kingdom’s role was “very important” and had spared the global oil market a serious crisis.
He said the East to West pipeline transported about 7 million barrels of oil to the Red Sea, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz, and supplied international markets with crude and refined products, helping prevent prices from rising “insanely,” as he put it.
