With “energy dominance” comes great turbulence. President Donald Trump’s open-ended war against Iran reflects a US seemingly unconstrained by energy needs and ready to wield its own fossil fuels as instruments of power. In doing so, the US has switched from being an effective underwriter of global energy security to disrupter. The war also cements another shift, from the old ESG of environmental, social and governance factors shaping energy decisions, to new ones: economics, security and geopolitics.

Concentrated risk of supply disruption is the Achilles’ heel of global oil and gas. Flashing headlines mentioning just four places around the Persian Gulf — Hormuz, Kharg Island, Abqaiq and Ras Laffan — would herald a true global energy crisis. For much of the post-World War II era, the US mitigated such risks with a broad commitment to police shipping lanes and also deter trouble in the region.

© Bloomberg