Middle East tensions threaten global oil supply, warns IES Director
By Ernest Afram
The Executive Director of the Institute for Energy Security (IES), Nana Amoasi VII, has cautioned that escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, particularly between Iran and Israel, could significantly disrupt global oil production and distribution.
In a media interview on Monday, he stressed that the Middle East remains a critical region for global energy security, contributing nearly 45 percent of the oil produced daily worldwide.
“The Middle East, in particular, is a hub of fuel supply and a major hub. It controls close to 45 percent of the oil that is produced daily on the world market,” he said.
Nana Amoasi VII explained that when tensions erupt in the region, oil production facilities often become targets of conflict, forcing shutdowns and staff evacuations. This, in turn, affects the volume of oil available on the world market.
“For instance, between Iran and the Palestinians, Iran produces oil and it’s quite huge because it sits within the Middle East. And so when this war picks up, the production platforms most of the time become targets of the tension or the war. They are forced to evacuate some of their staff and to shut down some of the production so they cannot protect it immediately. That means we have a cease in terms of the supply they can put on the world market,” he noted.
Beyond its production role, the region also serves as a key transit corridor for vessels transporting oil and petroleum products from Asia and Russia to Africa and other parts of the world. Critical shipping routes like the Suez Canal and chokepoints around Abu Dhabi remain vulnerable during periods of instability.
“You may have the Suez Canal as a point. You have other choke points around Abu Dhabi. Vessels use that route. So, should there be tension between neighbors there, the vessels that transit this route are very careful so they are not caught in the tension. And so they cease movement, vessels don’t move,” Nana Amoasi VII explained.
He warned that any such disruption in movement would further strain global oil supply chains, leading to a potential squeeze on availability and price volatility in the petroleum markets.
“So in terms of production and the shipment of oil, the Middle East plays a key role. And so if there is tension, then we have wahala,” he added. The IES boss added that both the physical disruption of oil production facilities and the interruption of shipping routes could have far-reaching consequences on energy security and the pricing of petroleum products across the globe.
