Saad Al-kaabi, Qatar’s energy minister, has warned that global crude oil prices could climb to $150 per barrel within “two to three weeks” if oil tankers remain unable to navigate the Strait of Hormuz.
Al-kaabi issued the warning on Friday during an interview with the Financial Times.
On March 2, major container shipping companies suspended sailings through both the Strait of Hormuz and the Suez Canal amid rising security concerns in the Middle East following US and Israeli strikes on Iran.
The Strait of Hormuz — a narrow maritime channel linking the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea — serves as the only sea route connecting the Gulf region’s oil and gas producers with international markets. Because of this, it is regarded as one of the most strategically critical waterways globally.
Speaking to Financial Times, Al-kaabi said the global energy market could face serious disruptions if vessels are unable to move through the Strait of Hormuz.
He projected that crude prices “could reach $150 a barrel within two to three weeks if tankers and other vessels remain unable to pass through the strategic waterway”.
Al-Kaabi also cautioned that natural gas prices could climb to $40 per metric million British thermal units (MMBtu) if supply disruptions continue — almost four times higher than the levels recorded before the war.
He said if the conflict persists, energy producers across the Gulf region may be compelled to declare force majeure, potentially leading to the suspension of energy deliveries.
“Everybody that has not called for force majeure we expect will do so in the next few days that this continues. All exporters in the Gulf region will have to call force majeure,” Al-kaabi said.
“If they don’t, they are at some point going to pay the liability for that legally, and that’s their choice.”
On March 2, QatarEnergy, the state-owned energy company of Qatar, said it had halted the production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) due to Iranian military attacks on its operating facilities.
Al-kaabi, addressing the shutdown, said the government and QatarEnergy are still assessing the extent of the damage to the facility.
“We don’t yet know the extent of the damage, as it is currently still being assessed. It is not clear yet how long it will take to repair,” he said.
Even if hostilities stopped immediately, the minister said it would take “weeks to months” for Qatar to restore normal export operations because of logistical disruptions.
Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil company of Saudi Arabia, had also shut down its Ras Tanura oil refinery following a fire sparked by debris from an Iranian drone attack at the facility.
The disruption in global energy supply has already pushed petrol prices higher in Nigeria.
On March 5, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited raised petrol prices at its filling stations to N933 per litre in Lagos and N960 per litre in Abuja.
The increase followed a review by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, which raised its ex-gantry petrol price to N874 per litre from N774 per litre.
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