Hormuz alternatives give oil not a ‘smidgen’ of help, Kuwaiti says

Kuwait Petroleum Corp. CEO Sheikh Nawaf Al-Sabah says emergency measures aimed at offsetting the Iran war’s impact on oil shipping have not raised supplies “even a smidgen” to the level of normal exports.

Speaking in Houston at the annual CERAWeek energy conference, Al-Sabah said Iran is “holding the world’s economy hostage” through its attacks on infrastructure and choking off of the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has struck Kuwait’s largest oil refinery, as well as the Shah gasfield in the UAE and Qatar’s Ras Laffan industrial hub in response to the bombing campaign by the U.S. and Israel over the past month.

On the other hand, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said in Washington that the Iran war could ultimately bring calm to the region, saying he sees the possibility that, “in the long run, this actually enhances the chance of peace in the Middle East.”

Dimon cautioned, however, that the risks remain severe in the near term, warning of potential terrorist activity and cyberattacks that could spill into global markets, speaking in an onstage interview at the Hill and Valley Forum in Washington, D.C.