UAE Energy Chief Urges More Storage, Local Refining After Hormuz Disruption

What Al Jaber told Adipec

Opening the Adipec conference, Sultan Al Jaber - who runs the UAE's largest energy company - said the system only works if products reach end users, so the world needs to rethink how it stores, refines, and ships fuels. He spoke at the region's biggest gathering of energy leaders since the conflict began at the end of February.

Specific fixes he named

He said, "We need expanded strategic storage, larger stockpiles of products and flexible refining capacity closer to consumer markets." He added, "Second, routes to market. Supply only counts when it arrives. Infrastructure must be built before it is needed and enabled by advanced logistics."

The market backdrop

Al Jaber said Iranian attacks on tankers severely curtailed traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, roiling energy markets and shipping routes. He said the interruption has drawn down global inventories by nearly 1 billion barrels, with some markets seeing diesel stocks at the lowest for this time of year in 35 years, and it has also created a shortfall in liquefied natural gas.

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Why it matters for your portfolio

Rising worries that the conflict could flare again helped push crude to $110 a barrel in London trading and lifted European natural gas prices above €100. Prices then eased Monday after a report indicated that President Donald Trump favors allowing more time for diplomacy before making a decision on resuming strikes on Iran following Tuesday's midterms. In plain English: supply risks and policy choices are steering price swings, which can ripple into energy equities, transport costs, and inflation expectations.

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