Hormuz Closure Spurs Push to Cut Reliance on 20% Oil Chokepoint
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jun 25
Hormuz Closure Spurs Push to Cut Reliance on 20% Oil Chokepoint
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jun 25
Summary
Experts say the Iran war showed the world can blunt a Strait of Hormuz shutdown by expanding workarounds used during the conflict rather than treating the waterway as an unavoidable choke point.
Oil still closed at $73.74 a barrel on Wednesday because producers rerouted more crude through pipelines, governments released strategic reserves and the U.S. military helped tankers transit the strait.
Iran had gained an early edge by attacking commercial ships, deterring shippers and cutting off a large share of global oil flows, but the disruption never drove prices to recession-triggering extremes.
Asian economies, hit hardest by the war, also curbed fossil-fuel use and accelerated greener energy adoption, reinforcing a broader effort to reduce future exposure to any renewed Iranian closure.