The Strait and the Salt Flats: How a Hormuz Crisis Is Redrawing Latin America's Energy Map

Rio Times · Analysis

Key Facts

—The Strait of Hormuz Trigger Iran’s Revolutionary Guard began ‘strict control’ of the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, tripling tanker insurance and sending Asian energy markets into a panic over the 89 per cent of crude that transits the chokepoint.

—Latin America’s Immediate Opportunity The crisis is accelerating a structural shift in global oil flows, with Gulf of Mexico and Brazil’s pre-salt crude suddenly more valuable as Asian refiners scramble for secure, non-Strait-dependent barrels.

—Guyana’s Moment of Strategic Prominence ExxonMobil’s Stabroek Block production, already surging past 600,000 barrels per day, is being viewed in Washington and Tokyo not just as a commercial venture but as a strategic Western Hemisphere energy bastion outside Iran’s reach.