Hormuz shutdown sparks oil industry warnings at CERAWeek

Oil executives from the Gulf and around the world warned at the energy industry’s massive CERAWeek conference in Houston that the Iran war is inflicting potentially lasting damage, with disruptions to supply chains expected to take years to repair.

Iran’s effort to shut down the Strait of Hormuz is an act of “economic terrorism against every nation”, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, the UAE’s Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC’s Group CEO, said in a keynote speech on Monday, delivered remotely.

Pointing to damage ADNOC facilities have suffered, including the Shah gas field, the Habshan gas processing complex and the Ruwais refining hub, Al Jaber said: “Our defenses have been tested. Our resilience has been tested. Our character has been tested. And we withstood.”

Other industry leaders, including TotalEnergies Chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanne, warned that prolonged disruption risks fueling inflation, tightening global supplies and triggering broader economic fallout.

Closing the Strait of Hormuz also threatens global agriculture, as the passage carries key nitrogen inputs underpinning roughly half the world’s food supply, Chris Krebs, former director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, warns in the Financial Times.

Gulf states supply 49% of globally traded urea and 30% of ammonia, and any disruption could undermine crop yields in the months ahead, Krebs said.