Top oil CEOs sound the alarm as Israel-Iran strikes escalate
Top oil executives are sounding the alarm over the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran.
The CEOs of TotalEnergies, Shell, and EnQuest told CNBC on Tuesday that further attacks on critical energy infrastructure could have serious consequences for global supply and prices.
Israel's surprise attack on Iran's military and nuclear infrastructure on Friday has been followed by four days of spiraling warfare between the regional foes.
Some oil and gas facilities have been hit in both countries in recent days, although key energy infrastructure and crude flows have so far been spared.
The potential for major supply disruption remains a key concern, however, particularly worst-case scenarios such as Iran blocking the highly strategic Strait of Hormuz.
'The last 96 hours have been very concerning … both for the region but more broadly in terms of where the global energy system is going given the uncertainty and the backdrop that we see right now and the geopolitical volatility,' Shell CEO Wael Sawan told CNBC's JP Ong on Tuesday.
Speaking at the Energy Asia conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Shell's Sawan said the London-listed company has a 'significant footprint' in the Middle East, both in terms of operated assets and shipments.
'How we navigate over the coming days and weeks, the situation is something that is particularly top of mind for myself, and the leadership team,' Sawan said.
Oil prices traded higher on Tuesday, extending recent gains.
International benchmark Brent crude futures with August stood at $75.41 per barrel at 4:16 p.m. London time, up around 3%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures with July delivery, meanwhile, was last seen up 2.7% at $73.74.
Oil traders see the Israel-Iran conflict as the most significant geopolitical event since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné said the French oil giant's primary concern amid Israel-Iran tensions is the security of its regional employees.
'We are the largest international oil company in the region. We were born 100 years ago in Iraq, and we still have operations in Iraq, Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Saudi Arabia,' Pouyanné told CNBC on the sidelines of the same event.
Pouyanné said he hoped further strikes would not concern oil installations 'because this could become a real problematic hit, not only in terms of safety and hazards and risks, but also in terms of global markets.'
As Israel and Iran continue to exchange strikes, some shipowners have started to steer clear from the Strait of Hormuz.
The waterway, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea, is recognized as one of the world's most important oil chokepoints.
The inability of oil to traverse through the Strait of Hormuz, even temporarily, can ratchet up global energy prices, raise shipping costs and create significant supply delays.
Market watchers remain skeptical that Iran will seek to close the waterway, however, suggesting it might even be physically impossible.
Amjad Bseisu, CEO of U.K.-based EnQuest, described 2025 as 'the year of volatility.'
'It's almost like every day we see something different but obviously this war between Israel and Iran is another step up,' Bseisu told CNBC on Tuesday.
'The quicker we can come to an end of this terrible conflict, the better for overall markets but I do think that the market is well supplied in the short to medium term,' he added.
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News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
Bunker ‘did not exist': Aussie reporter's terrifying scramble for shelter in Israel amid missile threat
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News.com.au
3 hours ago
- News.com.au
If Iran's bunkers are busted, what might escape?
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But Uranium enrichment and heavy water plants are not nuclear reactors. And that's a critical factor in assessing the risk of any bombing campaign. Radiological release Explosions and drone strikes on and around Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant have sent shivers through the spines of nuclear analysts around the world since President Vladimir Putin's 2022 invasion. His troops now occupy the site. And while it has been idled to halt the flow of electricity, it still poses a serious environmental risk. Ukraine knows what that means. The forest surrounding the wreck of the Soviet-era Chornobyl power plant is expected to remain unsafe for human habitation for at least 22,000 years. And the clean-up of Japan's Fukushima isn't likely to be completed before the mid-2050s. So what about Iran's bombed nuclear facilities? Only reactors have the highly radioactive fuel rods needed to turn water into the superheated steam that drives generators to produce electricity. 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SBS Australia
4 hours ago
- SBS Australia
'On course to potential chaos' UN Chief sounds alarm over Iran-Israel
'The world is watching with growing alarm. We are not drifting toward crises. We are racing toward it. We are not witnessing isolated incidents. We are on course to potential chaos. The expansion of these conflicts could ignite a fire that no one can control. We must not let that happen.' UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres delivering a stark warning there, as he calls on Israel and Iran to de-escalate the ongoing conflict. Since Israel launched strikes on Iran just over a week ago both countries have been exchanging continuous fire in a deadly regional escalation. Now, Israel is threatening Iran with a 'prolonged war' and warns Israeli citizens that they should prepare for difficult days ahead. Israeli Military Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir says that every day, Israel is expanding it's freedom of action. " We have embarked on one the most complex campaigns in our history. 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Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, says they don't have evidence that Iran is planning to develop a nuclear weapon. "We do not have at this point, if you ask me, at this point, any tangible proof that there is a program or a plan to fabricate to manufacture a nuclear weapon. There are different scattered activities here and there. And there is the material." In March, the US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard testified to congress that the U-S intelligence community believed Tehran was not working on a nuclear warhead. On Friday Donald Trump told reporters the intelligence community got it wrong. "What intelligence do you have that Iran is building a nuclear weapon? Your intelligence community has said they have no evidence that they are at this point." Donald Trump: "Well, then my intelligence community is wrong. Who in the intelligence community said that?" Reporter: "Your Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard." Donald Trump: "She's wrong." A US based NGO says at least 657 people, including at least 263 civilians, have been killed by Israeli strikes on Iran. The Human Rights Activists News Agency says more than 20 children are among those killed. Israeli authorities say at least 25 people have been killed in Iranian strikes. An Iranian strike on a hospital in Haifa reported 19 injured, which Israeli President Isaac Herzog says also hit a mosque. Following the strike, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar condemned Iran for attacking civilian infrastructure. " We see here once again the results of the Iranian strategy. The Iranian regime is targeting deliberately civilian population centers. Therefore, you can see that a pure civilian area was hit here. And specifically, in that case - a mosque. It's a war crime. This is clear, because according to international law, you cannot target civilian population centres." Iran says it was targeting military sites. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Israel's condemnation over the hospital strike is hypocritical. "To hear such so-called lamentations from a regime that has deliberately bombed hospitals in Gaza is a bit laughable. In some cases, bombing wasn't even enough for them, their armed forces stormed hospitals and shot patients to death, executed them inside hospital wards, with machine guns. And now, that same regime pretends to be a victim on the international stage. This is, frankly, a little laughable." Meanwhile in Gaza, Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire at Palestinians attempting to reach aid, with health authorities reporting at least 34 were killed on Friday. The United Nations says Israeli attacks have killed more than 400 people who were desperately attempting to reach aid in recent weeks. Virginia Gamba is the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict. Speaking on a new report on children in conflict, she says Gaza and the West Bank recorded the highest number of rights violations in 2024. "The magnitude of the suffering of the children in Gaza defies and contravenes every human standard. We cannot continue to stand by and watch with no action. There is no justification for depriving children of access to survival means such as food, healthcare, and security."
