Post-War Oil Trade Could Look Nothing Like It Did Before Hormuz
Key takeaways
- Venezuela s oil output has shot up to 1.25 million barrels daily.
- Then, when it became abundantly clear that there is no expiry date on the Strait closure, oil exporters finally started making contingency plans.
- The UAE s exit from OPEC highlighted the urgency as well, even though it was seen as a pivot to more energy policy independence.
Irina Slav Mon, June 8, 2026 at 4:00 AM GMT+7 5 min read Persian Gulf oil exporters are scrambling to reroute their crude from ports to pipelines to keep the world running and keep their oil money flowing and fueling their economies. Sanction waivers abound. Venezuela s oil output has shot up to 1.25 million barrels daily. The world of energy after the end of the war in the Middle East will be a very different one from what we ve become accustomed to over the last five years.
When the United States and Israel first fired on Iran, the overwhelming assumption was that first, Iran would never close the Strait of Hormuz, and two, after the closure became a fact, that it would only last for a few days, maybe a couple of weeks tops. Then, when it became abundantly clear that there is no expiry date on the Strait closure, oil exporters finally started making contingency plans.
News about pipeline plans in the Persian Gulf includes the UAE, which eyes an operational pipeline to the port of Fujairah by next year, demonstrating just how urgent the alternative route is to one of the largest oil exporters in the Middle East. The UAE s exit from OPEC highlighted the urgency as well, even though it was seen as a pivot to more energy policy independence. It was, but it can also be interpreted as a move to make sure the oil flows.