Khaberni - The CEO of the French TotalEnergies group, Patrick Pouyanne, emphasized the importance of reopening the Strait of Hormuz for the oil market, "even if it requires paying fees."
Pouyanne said at a conference held in Washington on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings: "Clearly, reopening the Strait of Hormuz and the freedom of navigation in it, even if it requires any side to pay fees, is crucial for market freedom."
Since the outbreak of war in the Middle East following joint US and Israeli strikes on Iran, Tehran has almost completely closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas production passes. Since then, only a few ships, most of them Iranian, have crossed the strategic waterway for exporting hydrocarbons from the Gulf.
Pouyanne pointed out that the additional blockade imposed by US President Donald Trump on Iranian ports, which came into effect on Monday, increases the "decrease" in the market supply, which is already suffering from a shortage of oil, and he saw that this explains the sharp rise in crude oil prices on Monday.
He affirmed the illegality of the transit fees imposed by Tehran in the Strait of Hormuz, which he estimated at one dollar per barrel, but he considered that "the real problem lies in the threat" facing the movement in the strait, more than any transit fees.
Pouyanne confirmed that Western countries, unlike Asian countries, have "reserves sufficient for about three months" and are capable of mitigating the oil crisis, adding: "But if this war and closure continue for more than three months, we will start to face serious problems in the supply of some products such as kerosene, which will push us to ration the use of airplanes, or diesel."
