Energy giants Baker Hughes, Woodside shy away from making oil forecasts as Iran-Israel conflict escalates
The CEOs of two major energy companies are monitoring the developments between Iran and Israel — but they aren't about to make firm predictions on oil prices.
Both countries traded strikes over the weekend, after Israel targeted nuclear and military facilities in Iran on Friday, killing some of its top nuclear scientists and military commanders.
Speaking at the Energy Asia conference in Kuala Lumpur on Monday, Lorenzo Simonelli, president and CEO of energy technology company Baker Hughes, told CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia" that "my experience has been, never try and predict what the price of oil is going to be, because there's one sure thing: You're going to be wrong."
Simonelli said the last 96 hours "have been very fluid," and expressed hope that there would be a de-escalation in tensions in the region.
"As we go forward, we'll obviously monitor the situation like everybody else is. It is moving very quickly, and we're going to anticipate the aspect of what's next," he added, saying that the company will take a wait-and-see approach for its projects.
At the same conference, Meg O'Neill, CEO of Australian oil and gas giant Woodside Energy, likewise told CNBC that the company is monitoring the impact of the conflict on markets around the world.
She highlighted that forward prices were already experiencing "very significant" effects in light of the events of the past four days.
If supplies through the Strait of Hormuz are affected, "that would have even more significant effects on prices, as customers around the world would be scrambling to meet their own energy needs," she added.
As of Sunday, the Strait remained open, according to an advisory from the Joint Maritime Information Center. It said, "There remains a media narrative on a potential blockade of the [Strait of Hormuz]. JMIC has no confirmed information pointing towards a blockade or closure, but will follow the situation closely."
Iran was reportedly considering closing the Strait of Hormuz in response to the attacks.
O'Neill said that oil and gas prices are closely linked to geopolitics, citing as examples events that date back to World War II and the oil crisis in the 1970s.
Nevertheless, she would not make a firm prediction on the price of oil, saying, "there's many things we can forecast. The price of oil in five years is not something I would I would try to put a bet on."
The Strait of Hormuz is a vital waterway between Iran and the United Arab Emirates. About 20% of the world's oil passes through it.
It is the only sea route from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, and the U.S. Energy Information Administration has described it as the "world's most important oil transit chokepoint."
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