LONDON: Middle East oil producers face a reckoning. The Iran war exposed the dangers of relying on a single chokepoint for vital oil and gas exports, leaving Gulf governments with a clear strategic imperative: diversify – at all costs. An Iranian blockade of the Strait of Hormuz had long been viewed as a “Doomsday” event that would never happen. Experts assumed it would require a massive military effort and that Tehran would be reluctant to choke off its own exports. Those assumptions were proven painfully wrong.

Oil and gas majors have high hopes for a quick reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, but they have few illusions about a return to normal for the Gulf energy industry after more than…

The world’s oil and gas majors have high hopes for a quick reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, but they have few illusions about a return to normal for the Gulf energy industry…