As the former chief executive of Woodside Energy for more than 10 years, Peter Coleman was measured when asked about the potential impact on the oil price of the war between Israel and Palestinian terrorist organisation Hamas. As any oil market veteran can tell you, geopolitical flash points come every other year.
While there is little direct threat to oil production from the war, and geopolitical shocks tend to have a temporary impact on prices, Aston says the big question is whether the conflict spreads through the Middle East.k. If Israel directly accused Iran, it would be hard for the US Biden administration to step back from sanctions against Iran.The implications for Saudi Arabia are fascinating, too.
Oil is clearly in this category. Indeed, a month ago, OPEC reported that the global oil market was headed for a deficit as soon as the December quarter, thanks to Saudi production cuts announced earlier in the year, which now seem highly unlikely to be reversed. Deloitte Access economics lead partner, Pradeep Philip, reminded the summit that it is only a few months since theincluding Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to join it.