Iraq’s Ministry of Oil says it will stop its production in a key oil field as the ongoing war in Iran disrupted a key waterway into the oil-rich Persian Gulf.
The widening war between Iran with the United States and Israel has ground tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to a halt, causing crude oil prices to surge worldwide. About a fifth of the world’s oil passes through the strait, carrying oil and gas from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE and Iran.
The ministry cited a shortage of tankers entering the gulf, forcing them to “stop production and pumping” from the southern Rumaila fields near the city of Basra. That tanker shortage caused “storage levels at our oil warehouses rising to critical levels.”
The strait is about 33 kilometers (21 miles) wide at its narrowest point. It connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman. From there, ships can then travel to the rest of the world.
