How war on Iran changed the global energy sector forever

Since the United States and Israel launched a war on Iran in late February, the global energy sector has undergone major upheaval. Oil prices have swung from levels not seen since the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 to close to where they were before the conflict more than four months ago. Recommended Stories list of 4 items end of list Energy suppliers have scrambled to find alternative trade routes amid Iran’s stranglehold over the Strait of Hormuz, through which about one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies pass in peacetime. And from Tokyo to New Delhi to London, governments have rolled emergency measures to spare citizens from the worst of the pain inflicted by surging fuel costs. But while ongoing US-Iran negotiations to reach a lasting peace have raised hopes for a return to stability in oil and gas markets, the war has already transformed the global energy landscape in ways that are likely to be long-lasting and even permanent, according to energy experts. “The oil market will never be the same, following this conflict,” Adi Imsirovic, a veteran oil trader who lectures at the University of Oxford, told Al Jazeera. “New pipelines will urgently be built. New security arrangements will be put into place, and the buyers of oil from the region will look elsewhere for diversification,” Imsirovic said. …