Editorial: Strait of Hormuz: Tehran Under Fire?

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Tim Haïdar
08/06/2012

"Certainly the game is rigged. Don't let that stop you; if you don't bet you can't win."

With the LIBOR scandal still ringing across the trading floors of London, the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has stated the current system of oil price reporting to be "susceptible to manipulation or distortion", with trillions of dollars of oil and gas-based derivatives possibly tainted.

So are we in the midst of a rigged game where dealers and players alike are in cahoots and care not about who wins the game, just as long as it is played in their parlour.

In other news, and oh so quietly, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have inaugurated new pipelines bypassing the geostrategic Strait of Hormuz, in a play that will further reduce Tehran’s sway in the global hydrocarbon markets. As Iranian oil production hit its lowest ebb since 1992, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces announced that the plan devised for a naval blockade of the polemic Strait only lacks sign off from the Supreme Leader to swing into action.

"Of course, we don't want to block the Strait of Hormuz, but we have a plan for closing it, which is a clever and wise one," said Major General Hassan Firouzabadi said. Who will blink first, and how many aces hide up how many sleeves?

What do you think?

In Oil and Gas IQ this week, we take a look at the future of FPSOs, the biggest challenges in the world of well intervention and we ask you where your company stands as we peer over the precipice of The Great Crew Change: