Qatar expects all Gulf energy producers to shut down exports within weeks if the Iran conflict continues and drives oil to $150 a barrel, the country’s Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi has told the Financial Times in an interview, according to Reuters.
“Everybody that has not called for force majeure we expect will do so in the next few days [if] this continues. All exporters in the Gulf region will have to call force majeure,” Kaabi told the FT.
“If this war continues for a few weeks, GDP growth around the world will be impacted,” he said.
“Everybody’s energy price is going to go higher. There will be shortages of some products, and there will be a chain reaction of factories that cannot supply,” Kaabi said.
Kaabi said even if the war ended immediately, it would take Qatar “weeks to months” to return to a normal cycle of deliveries.
He forecast that crude prices could hit $150 a barrel O/R in two to three weeks if ships and tankers were unable to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
Kaabi also expects gas prices to rise to $40 per million British thermal units.
