The Strait of Hormuz is still closed and Iran must open it without conditions and be held accountable for damages after attacks on facilities, according to the chief executive of Emirati oil giant ADNOC Thursday.
The narrow waterway that Iran has effectively shuttered since the U.S.-Israeli war began on Feb. 28 is not open, Sultan al-Jaber said in a LinkedIn post, adding that access is being restricted, conditioned and controlled.
"Iran has made clear – through both its statements and actions – that passage is subject to permission, conditions and political leverage. That is not freedom of navigation. That is coercion," al-Jaber, also the UAE minister of industry and advanced technology, wrote.
"Energy producers must be able to swiftly and safely restore production at scale. At ADNOC, we have loaded cargoes and we will expand production within the constraints of the damage we have suffered."
Energy facilities under attack
Energy facilities have also come under attack in the UAE's neighbors, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain.
"The UAE has reiterated its position that following the substantial and illegal attacks on UAE civil and energy infrastructure, Iran must be held accountable and fully liable for damages and reparations," al-Jaber said.
Reuters reported in mid-March that the UAE's oil production had fallen by more than half after the strait's effective closure forced ADNOC to implement widespread production shut-ins.
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, or ADNOC, is central to the economy of the OPEC member, the UAE, which, before the war, produced some 4% of global oil output.
A Reuters analysis estimated ADNOC's oil revenues in March were little changed from a year prior as higher oil prices helped offset lower output and the company exported crude via an alternate route.
Al-Jaber, who is also his country's special envoy for climate change, was president of the COP28 climate summit hosted in Dubai in 2023.
He has led ADNOC for a decade and spearheaded a modernization drive that helped raise billions of dollars, mirrored certain strategies of Western oil majors and set ambitious global growth targets.
"The Strait must be open – fully, unconditionally and without restriction. Energy security and global economic stability depend on it," al-Jaber said, adding that every day that it remains shut compounds the consequences, with supply delayed, markets tightening and prices rising.
About 230 ships are loaded with oil, ready to sail, and should be free to do so along with every vessel to come, he said.
"That is how we slow the economic shockwave already moving through the system."