What to Expect From a Mammoth Disruption of Global Oil and Gas Supplies
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March 11, 2026
What to Expect From a Mammoth Disruption of Global Oil and Gas Supplies
And why was the Trump team so unprepared for shock waves?
Stanley Reed
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An oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz as viewed from the town of Al Jeer in the United Arab Emirates, on February 25, 2026. (Fadel Senna / AFP via Getty Images)
Starting a war in the Persian Gulf, a region that produces roughly a third of the world’s oil, was bound to send shock waves through global markets.
Yet the Trump administration, which joined Israel in launching a ruthless assault on Iran last month, has seemed unprepared for the Islamic Republic’s ability to hit back through threats and attacks on shipping that have cut the flow of tankers to a trickle.
This response is creating a mammoth disruption of global supplies of oil as well as natural gas, with potentially large consequences for consumers and businesses as well as geopolitical ramifications. “I’ve been absolutely flabbergasted that the US has not been a little bit more planned as to how they would deal with this very, very predictable situation,” said Bill Farren-Price, a senior research fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies on a recent podcast.
The administration seemed to calculate that the large increases in oil and natural gas production in the United States in recent years would somehow blunt the consequences of a conflict in the Gulf.
Due to advances in fracking and other drilling techniques, the United States has become the world’s largest producer of oil as well as the largest exporter of natural gas.
Current Issue
April 2026 Issue
“The world is very well-supplied with oil right now,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC last month as Trump was building up forces in the Gulf. “It gives President Trump more leverage in his political actions not to worry about a crazy spike in oil prices.”
Yet those large supplies have not been enough of a buffer to soothe markets after the Iranians effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow gauntlet through which most of the oil and natural gas exports from the Persian Gulf region flow on their way to customers. “If this takes a long time, that will have a serious impact on the global economy,” Amin Nasser, chief executive of Saudi Aramco, the Saudi national company that is the world’s largest oil producer, said on a call with financial analysts on Tuesday.
On Monday, mounting fears of prolonged conflict and resulting disruption led to a spike in international crude oil prices to nearly $120 a barrel, the highest level since the aftermath of Russia’s 2022 invasion of …
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Current Issue
March 11, 2026
What to Expect From a Mammoth Disruption of Global Oil and Gas Supplies
And why was the Trump team so unprepared for shock waves?
Stanley Reed
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An oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz as viewed from the town of Al Jeer in the United Arab Emirates, on February 25, 2026. (Fadel Senna / AFP via Getty Images)
Starting a war in the Persian Gulf, a region that produces roughly a third of the world’s oil, was bound to send shock waves through global markets.
Yet the Trump administration, which joined Israel in launching a ruthless assault on Iran last month, has seemed unprepared for the Islamic Republic’s ability to hit back through threats and attacks on shipping that have cut the flow of tankers to a trickle.
This response is creating a mammoth disruption of global supplies of oil as well as natural gas, with potentially large consequences for consumers and businesses as well as geopolitical ramifications. “I’ve been absolutely flabbergasted that the US has not been a little bit more planned as to how they would deal with this very, very predictable situation,” said Bill Farren-Price, a senior research fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies on a recent podcast.
The administration seemed to calculate that the large increases in oil and natural gas production in the United States in recent years would somehow blunt the consequences of a conflict in the Gulf.
Due to advances in fracking and other drilling techniques, the United States has become the world’s largest producer of oil as well as the largest exporter of natural gas.
Current Issue
April 2026 Issue
“The world is very well-supplied with oil right now,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC last month as Trump was building up forces in the Gulf. “It gives President Trump more leverage in his political actions not to worry about a crazy spike in oil prices.”
Yet those large supplies have not been enough of a buffer to soothe markets after the Iranians effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow gauntlet through which most of the oil and natural gas exports from the Persian Gulf region flow on their way to customers. “If this takes a long time, that will have a serious impact on the global economy,” Amin Nasser, chief executive of Saudi Aramco, the Saudi national company that is the world’s largest oil producer, said on a call with financial analysts on Tuesday.
On Monday, mounting fears of prolonged conflict and resulting disruption led to a spike in international crude oil prices to nearly $120 a barrel, the highest level since the aftermath of Russia’s 2022 invasion of …
What to Expect From a Mammoth Disruption of Global Oil and Gas Supplies
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Current Issue
March 11, 2026
What to Expect From a Mammoth Disruption of Global Oil and Gas Supplies
And why was the Trump team so unprepared for shock waves?
Stanley Reed
Share
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X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
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An oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz as viewed from the town of Al Jeer in the United Arab Emirates, on February 25, 2026. (Fadel Senna / AFP via Getty Images)
Starting a war in the Persian Gulf, a region that produces roughly a third of the world’s oil, was bound to send shock waves through global markets.
Yet the Trump administration, which joined Israel in launching a ruthless assault on Iran last month, has seemed unprepared for the Islamic Republic’s ability to hit back through threats and attacks on shipping that have cut the flow of tankers to a trickle.
This response is creating a mammoth disruption of global supplies of oil as well as natural gas, with potentially large consequences for consumers and businesses as well as geopolitical ramifications. “I’ve been absolutely flabbergasted that the US has not been a little bit more planned as to how they would deal with this very, very predictable situation,” said Bill Farren-Price, a senior research fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies on a recent podcast.
The administration seemed to calculate that the large increases in oil and natural gas production in the United States in recent years would somehow blunt the consequences of a conflict in the Gulf.
Due to advances in fracking and other drilling techniques, the United States has become the world’s largest producer of oil as well as the largest exporter of natural gas.
Current Issue
April 2026 Issue
“The world is very well-supplied with oil right now,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC last month as Trump was building up forces in the Gulf. “It gives President Trump more leverage in his political actions not to worry about a crazy spike in oil prices.”
Yet those large supplies have not been enough of a buffer to soothe markets after the Iranians effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow gauntlet through which most of the oil and natural gas exports from the Persian Gulf region flow on their way to customers. “If this takes a long time, that will have a serious impact on the global economy,” Amin Nasser, chief executive of Saudi Aramco, the Saudi national company that is the world’s largest oil producer, said on a call with financial analysts on Tuesday.
On Monday, mounting fears of prolonged conflict and resulting disruption led to a spike in international crude oil prices to nearly $120 a barrel, the highest level since the aftermath of Russia’s 2022 invasion of …
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