The rise in oil prices is slowing economic growth everywhere, the chief executive of UAE state-run energy giant ADNOC said on Monday.
“Stability in energy markets underpins security in every market,” ADNOC CEO Sultan Al Jaber said in a video speech to attendees at the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston.
“Energy security is the difference between lights on and lights off.”
The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has led to the effective shutdown of a fifth of oil and gas supplies through the Strait of Hormuz, a global shipping chokepoint off the southern coast of Iran. Iran has threatened to fire on vessels trying to sail through the strait without its permission.
No country should be allowed to hold the Strait of Hormuz hostage because the world’s critical arteries must remain open, Al Jaber said.
Iranian missiles and drones have targeted OPEC member the UAE since the conflict began in late February. The attack on the UAE was “illegal, erratic, unjustified and completely unprovoked”, he said.
(Reporting by Stephanie Kelly; Editing by Simon Webb)