Seven months have passed since the launch of Operation Epic Fury by the United States and Israel on Feb 28. The Strait of Hormuz continues to be blockaded; Iran's persistent attacks on oil tankers and merchant ships passing through the Strait have effectively imposed an embargo on sea transport, severely disrupting energy supplies. The United States recently stated that a billion barrels of oil have been transported through the Strait in the past two months. But the exact situation is not known, and energy supplies through the Strait are uncertain, volatile, and could be disrupted easily given the asymmetric warfare Iran seems to have mastered.

The East-West pipeline, carrying 7 mbd of crude oil from the Abqaiq oil field on the Persian Gulf coast to Yanbu on the Red Sea, has played a pivotal role in mitigating energy supply chain disruption since the outbreak of hostilities. The strategic reserves in various countries, oil in transit before supply interruption, commercial storage with refineries the world over, and effective demand-side management by many countries, notably China, dampened the impact of energy shortages for a few months. Now, continued disruption is bound to have more serious consequences, with the supply falling short of demand and the price shooting up considerably.

The entry of Ansar Allah (Houthis) from Yemen into the conflict has worsened the crisis. Significant damage to the East-West pipeline shut down the transport. Given the demonstrated ability of Houthis to carry out missile and drone attacks deep into Saudi Arabia, there is........

© Free Press Journal