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Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Not all countries are affected equally: some manage to partially bypass the blockade
As the world grapples with an oil crisis, amid soaring prices and increasingly worrisome shortages, it is becoming clear how the war has affected Gulf countries. Not all are in the same situation, as a Reuters analysis shows.
In particular, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates manage to partially bypass the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, while other countries in the region have no alternative. Iraq, Kuwait and Qatar are paying the highest price, as they cannot divert oil to other routes.
The International Energy Agency has called the conflict the biggest shock in the history of energy supply, citing over 12 million barrels per day of lost production and damage to about 40 energy infrastructures.
Export data for March showed that Iraq and Kuwait's oil revenues fell by about three-quarters compared with a year earlier. In contrast, Iran's revenues rose by 37% and Oman's by 26%. Saudi Arabia's revenues rose by 4.3%, while those of the United Arab Emirates fell by 2.6%, as rising prices offset falling volumes.
Saudi pipeline
Saudi Arabia's largest pipeline is a 1,200-kilometer east-west link, built in the 1980s during the Iran-Iraq war to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. It connects oil fields in the east to the Red Sea port of Yanbu and operates at an expanded capacity of 7 million barrels per day.
Aramco uses about 2 million barrels per day for domestic consumption, leaving about 5 million barrels for export. Yanbu cargoes averaged near maximum capacity of 4.6 million barrels per day during the week beginning March 23, despite targeted attacks on the terminal on March 19.
Overall, Saudi crude oil exports fell 26% year-on-year in March to 4.39 million barrels per day, according to data from Kpler and Jodi. However, higher prices increased the value of these exports by about $558 million compared to a year earlier. Riyadh had previously increased exports in February to the highest level since April 2023, in anticipation of a possible US attack on Iran.
United Arab Emirates
The emirates are partly protected by the 1.5–1.8 million barrels per day Habshan-Fujairah pipeline, which bypasses the Strait. However, the estimated value of oil exports fell by more than $174 million year-on-year in March. Fujairah was hit by a series of attacks that led to the suspension of shipments.
Iraq hardest hit
Among Gulf producers, Iraq's revenues fell the most, with a 76% contraction to $1.73 billion. Kuwait followed with a 73% decline, to $864 million.
Both countries are expected to face even steeper declines in April, after some shipments managed to leave in March in the early days of the conflict.
However, an Iraqi oil tanker passed through the Strait last week after Iran declared that Iraq would be exempt from the restrictions. /Adapted from Pamphlet /
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