Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin said on Saturday that the main beneficiaries of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz will be American energy companies, and that the United States is changing the fundamental contours of the global energy market to suit American interests.
After the United States and Israel attacked Iran in February, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran closed the strait, a key route for about a fifth of the world’s oil supplies and vital supplies such as fertilizer. The US has blockaded Iranian ports.
The strait closure has rattled global markets, pushing oil prices to multi-year highs, sparking global inflation and hurting economic growth around the world.
Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Sechin, a longtime ally of President Vladimir Putin, also said the OPEC+ group of major oil producers had lost some of its potential with the United Arab Emirates’ exit from the alliance.
“The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is an attempt to reorganize global energy market regulations to benefit the United States. The measures taken to close the Strait were aimed at Iran, but backfired on the entire world. The strategic risks were underestimated,” Sechin said.
“Of course, the main beneficiaries are US companies, which have gained a non-competitive advantage and the ability to secure high-cost supplies,” he added.
He warned that other major global shipping routes, including Malacca, Bad el-Mandeb and the Strait of Gibraltar, could also be at risk of disruption following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Sechin says OPEC+ is losing momentum
Sechin, who is known to be skeptical of Russia’s cooperation with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, said the OPEC+ group had lost some of its potential following the UAE’s departure from the alliance and the early exits of countries such as Qatar.
“As a result, the alliance’s production has fallen from 58 million barrels per day to 37 million barrels per day over the past decade,” he said.
Sechin also said that most major OPEC+ countries have increased production since the agreement was signed in 2016. In Russia, crude oil production fell by 1.5 million barrels per day.
“This is a 15% decrease, but it will have to be offset by the required investment of at least 10 trillion rubles. I hope that investment cooperation between our alliance members and our country will also expand,” Sechin said.
