Kamal Ghorui
The tussle over the opening of the Strait of Hormuz continues as the Middle East crisis intensifies, with oil shipments yet to return to normal levels. According to a senior Gulf Oil adviser, any impact on fuel prices in the United States is likely to take time.Tom Kloza, the company’s chief energy adviser, told CNN that he is still “not seeing the evidence of more crude oil departing” the strait, even though reopening the route was reportedly part of the two-week ceasefire agreed on Tuesday night.Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed that traffic through the strait slowed sharply and then stopped, blaming what it described as a violation of the ceasefire by Israel in Lebanon.Kloza said the situation remains uncertain and progress has been slow. “I would emphasize these are really baby steps right now. There’s no indication that the strait is going to reopen, and it seems like a flimsy ceasefire, to say what’s obvious,” he told CNN’s Jake Tapper.He added that only “a trickle” amount of oil is currently leaving the region. Because of the fragile ceasefire, companies are likely to be cautious about sending oil through the route.“It looks as though we’re weeks away from any restoration of even 50% or 70% of the Strait of Hormuz traffic that we depend on,” Kloza said.The situation could escalate further after US President Donald Trump on Thursday issued a fresh warning to Iran over the Strait of Hormuz. Posting on the social media platform Truth Social, he said American military forces and weapons would remain in place until the two sides reach a “real agreement”.“If for any reason it is not, which is highly unlikely, then the “Shootin’ Starts,” bigger, and better, and stronger than anyone has ever seen before. It was agreed, a long time ago, and despite all of the fake rhetoric to the contrary – NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS and, the Strait of Hormuz WILL BE OPEN & SAFE. In the meantime our great Military is Loading Up and Resting, looking forward, actually, to its next Conquest. AMERICA IS BACK!”Global energy supplies continue to face pressure as Iran restricts movement through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route that carries around 20% of the world’s oil. The conflict has now stretched beyond a month, following strikes on Iran by the United States and Israel on February 28.Meanwhile, oil prices edged up on Thursday after recording their sharpest single-day drop since April 2020, as ongoing tensions in the Middle East and uncertainty over the Strait of Hormuz kept markets unsettled. Brent crude climbed back towards $97 a barrel after a 13% fall on Wednesday, while West Texas Intermediate hovered near similar levels.
