The war on Iran has disrupted Middle East energy flows and shipping chokepoints, pushing fuel and shipping costs higher and forcing governments to reassess energy security. Riyadh Energy Week and the 17th International Energy Forum opened in Riyadh despite a Houthi attack on King Khalid International Airport that Saudi authorities say killed 12 people and injured 309; Italy joined by videolink and Nigeria sent a representative. The IEF brings together 68 countries that account for more than 90 percent of global oil and gas supply and demand, including Saudi Arabia, the United States and Russia. Fossil fuels still supply nearly 81 percent of global energy consumption, with oil at 31.4 percent, coal 25.9 percent and natural gas 23.5 percent, so disruptions in the Middle East ripple widely. Before the war, about 27 percent of global seaborne oil trade and almost 20 percent of LNG trade transited the Strait of Hormuz; traffic through the Strait, the Bab al-Mandeb and the Suez Canal has been reduced, forcing some shipments on longer routes around Africa. Richard Matthews, director at Gibson Shipbrokers, called the constriction of the Strait of Hormuz a major chokepoint because there is no alternative maritime route, a factor amplifying global price and supply effects. Downstream, Al Jazeera reports people and businesses are already feeling the disruption through rising costs of essentials as shipments take longer and become more expensive.
