Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan. 22 /Trend, M. Moezzi/
The new president of OPEC traveled to Tehran to discuss the Strait of Hormuz and its importance, Pana news reported.
Abdul-Kareem Luaibi, Iraq' oil minister and newly elected head of OPEC, traveled to Iran on Saturday to meet with officials from the country's oil ministry. Before his trip, Luaibi had told reporters that he wanted to encourage his Iranian friends to assure the world that everyone wishes to safeguard the production and export of oil in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf.
Anything else would put pressure on the world and its economy, said Luaibi.
The Suez and Panama Canals and the Strait of Hormuz are the world's three critical waterways for crude oil. Any disruption in the flow of ships carrying oil through these waters would affect at least 30 percent of the oil transported to oil consuming countries.
The Strait of Hormuz is in the world's most strategic energy zone because of its proximity to Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, all countries with the world's biggest reserves of oil and gas. Any mention of blocking the strait quickly pushes up world oil prices.
In response to the West's accelerating plans for boycotting Iran's oil, Iran's vice-president, Mohammad Reza Rahimi declared that "if Iran's oil is boycotted, not a single drop of oil will pass through the Strait of Hormuz."
Fears of the strait being blocked led the U.S. president to write a letter to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei.
Between 16 and 17 million barrels of oil a day and 77 million tons of liquid natural gas (LNG) per year pass through the Strait of Hormuz to the world's energy markets. Even a few days' interruption in this flow would lead to a global crisis.