Antonio A Ver
Convenor
From APBest’s roots at its founding in 2010 through its entry in the UNECOSOC in June 2014, the call for Oil pricing strategies continues more so in view of hitherto Regional war in the Middle East.
In two days from the attacks against Iran, oil prices spiked. Trading Economics reported: “WTI crude oil futures rose more than 6% to above $71 per barrel on Monday, the highest in over eight months, after earlier surging as much as 10% as unprecedented joint US and Israeli strikes on Iran sharply escalated tensions across the Middle East. Markets are closely monitoring the risk of disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital chokepoint that handles roughly one-fifth of global oil shipments and significant volumes of natural gas. Tehran insists the strait remains open, but shipping companies quickly began rerouting vessels away from the narrow waterway. Iran has also launched retaliatory missile barrages at US bases across neighboring countries, including the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq and Syria. Meanwhile, OPEC+ agreed on Sunday to increase production by 206,000 bpd in April, ending a three-month pause, but well below the 411,000–548,000 bpd that had been previously considered.”
“During the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, Arab members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) imposed an embargo against the United States in retaliation for the U.S. decision to resupply the Israeli military and to gain leverage in the post-war peace negotiations.”
The world is not running out of oil. However, aggression has brought disruption in supply and demand. Peaceful, diplomatic means have not settled disputes in oil rich economies. Is the United States’ peace through deterrence the trigger to hit middle east countries with “Epic Fury” to gulp the oil from the Gulf? Or is it a euphemism because prices have surged?
APBest’s advocacy from its birth in 2010 has not been diminished, and needs a closer look in global energy economics of fossil fuels and renewables.
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