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Hormuz oversight meeting postponed: Update

  • Märkte: Crude oil, LPG, Natural gas, Oil products
  • 14.09.26

Adds details throughout

A summit between eight Mideast Gulf littoral states to discuss the strait of Hormuz, scheduled for today, has been postponed, Oman's foreign minister said.

The meeting was to take place in Salalah, Oman, between the foreign ministers of Iran, Iraq and the six members of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) to address a proposal developed by Iran and Oman for safe passage of commercial vessels through the waterway.

Oman's foreign minister Badr Albusaidi said the meeting was postponed "in the interests of consensus". The country's foreign ministry said the delay was "in order to prepare the appropriate conditions for constructive dialogue that contributes to achieving sustainable understandings that support the security of the region and its stability."

The summit's buildup was not smooth. Drones originating in Iraq targeted Saudi Arabia's 7mn b/d East-West pipeline, forcing state-controlled Saudi Aramco to shut it down. Iraq is home to Iran-backed militia groups, which Riyadh said attacked several of its oilfields in the central and eastern Saudi Arabia earlier this year. Saudi Arabia has faced repeated attacks in recent weeks on energy infrastructure in its southern regions by the Yemen-based Houthi rebels, who are also supported by Tehran.

Bahrain's ministry of foreign affairs said on 12 September it would not participate in the meeting, stating it "would not be a party to any collective meeting that includes Iran prior to the restoration of diplomatic relations."

"The security and stability of the region cannot be built on turning a blind eye to aggressions, nor purchased by remaining silent on their consequences," it said, noting Bahrain has been subjected to attacks on infrastructure and civilian facilities, including the targeting of an ammonia tank, which "nearly led to comprehensive disaster."

The targeting of the East-West pipeline further reflects that attacks on civilian and economic facilities "represent a present danger, not a bygone matter," the ministry said.

Saudi Arabia's request

The East-West pipeline, which moves crude from Saudi oil fields and processing facilities near the Gulf to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, has been Saudi Arabia's primary route for exporting crude since the start of the US-Iran war.

The pipeline came under multiple attacks on 10 September, causing damage and injuring several people.

The attacks probably targeted pumping stations that facilitate the flow of oil through the pipeline. Riyadh has provided no details of the damage or a timeline for restoring operations.

Saudi Arabia issued no statements linking the attacks on its infrastructure to Monday's meeting, but Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Ebrahim Baghaei said Riyadh had requested the meeting in Oman be postponed, at least in part because of developments relating to the Houthis in Yemen.

Baghaei denied any Iranian involvement in the attacks on the Saudi pipeline, attributing such suggestions to "those who wish ill on our region."

Crude futures rose today. The front-month November Ice Brent contract rose to near $110/bl, up by nearly 5pc from the close on 11 September.


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