President Donald Trump announced Monday that the war in Iran would be over “very soon,” and that oil tankers would be given special U.S. Navy escorts to navigate between the Persian Gulf and global oceans. With gasoline prices and energy inflation already ticking up around the world, the speedy resumption of global petroleum trade has become a matter of urgency for the global economy, according to the world’s largest oil and gas company.
The widening conflict in the Middle East has all but immobilized the fossil fuel trade stemming from the region over the past 10 days. Attacks targeting vessels and energy production infrastructure have discouraged most exporters from venturing through the Strait of Hormuz, eliminating up to 20% of traded petroleum from global markets.
