It is hard to believe that anyone is seriously considering slicing a canal through the heart of the United Arab Emirates to provide an alternative shipping route to the Strait of Hormuz.
But recently the idea of a US$200 billion (Dh735bn) hole in the ground to replace a perfectly viable natural strait has resurfaced along with Iranian threats to blockade the conduit for one-sixth of world oil supply in the event of a US or Israeli attack.
It is now 35 years since Gulf oil exporters first experimented with blockading consumers. And it is now accepted wisdom that such measures actually hurt the instigators as much as their intended targets.
Whatever the political dividends of the move, the decision by Arab oil exporters to choke off supplies in 1973 encouraged the world to seek alternative oil suppliers, not to mention alternative sources of energy.
The Islamic republic clearly saw the logic of this when it engaged in the "tanker war" with Iraq in the mid-1980s. During this four-year episode of self-harm, the two nations damaged more than 500 ships, killing 430 people, and embedded in the Western psyche a deep anxiety about the reliability of Gulf oil supplies.
Behind the latest Iranian threats to block the strait is an erroneous assumption that the US would be the main loser from an attempt to halt the 15 million barrels of oil that emerge on tankers sailing into the Arabian Sea daily.
Of that figure, about one-fifth belongs to Iran itself. Tehran would not only lose its source of export earnings, but also suffer petrol shortages due to its heavy reliance on imported fuel which also passes through the strait.
In the years since the embargo, oil importers have built up an impressive insurance policy in the form of a huge strategic stockpile.
Set up after the first oil shock, the International Energy Agency now oversees inventories in its 27 member nations that could cover for almost three months of exports through Hormuz.
I wonder how the government in Tehran would fare without oil revenues, not to mention petrol.
And this does not even assume any direct foreign military intervention, which must be a high probability judging from recent history.
The subtext of the West's angst over the Strait of Hormuz is that the growing thirst for energy imports can only be sated through constant pressure on exporters to give up their "strategic" commodity.
Some might argue that food, another strategic commodity, has been ignored in all this worry over energy insecurity.
This obsession with energy supply is equally evident in the fierce competition over pipeline routes in Central Asia, with regional powers offering soft loans and other sweeteners to entice oil and gas flows from this landlocked region.
It is my contention that the rest of the world can and should rely more on the self-interest of exporters to supply its energy needs, even at a time of rising prices and growing nationalistic tendencies in many resource-rich nations.
Just in case, many Gulf states have already taken steps to reduce their dependence on the 34km wide stretch of water to the north of the Musandam peninsula.
Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer, has built a pipeline across the country which can switch about half its production to export terminals on the Red Sea coast if its Gulf route becomes restricted.
Iraq has an export pipeline to the Turkish Mediterranean.
And the Emirates has not been left behind. A Government investment company, the International Petroleum Investment Company, is building a pipeline to carry more than half of Abu Dhabi's oil to an export terminal in Fujairah, bypassing the strait.
As fuel demand grows in Iran itself, oil importers should be able to rely on mutual self-interest to keep Gulf oil flowing, whatever sweet terms may be on offer to open up a new sea route through the Emirates.
tashby@thenational.ae
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
England Test squad
Joe Root (captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow (wicketkeeper), Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Alastair Cook, Sam Curran, Keaton Jennings, Dawid Malan, Jamie Porter, Adil Rashid, Ben Stokes.
Straightforward ways to reduce sugar in your family's diet
- Ban fruit juice and sodas
- Eat a hearty breakfast that contains fats and wholegrains, such as peanut butter on multigrain toast or full-fat plain yoghurt with whole fruit and nuts, to avoid the need for a 10am snack
- Give young children plain yoghurt with whole fruits mashed into it
- Reduce the number of cakes, biscuits and sweets. Reserve them for a treat
- Don’t eat dessert every day
- Make your own smoothies. Always use the whole fruit to maintain the benefit of its fibre content and don’t add any sweeteners
- Always go for natural whole foods over processed, packaged foods. Ask yourself would your grandmother have eaten it?
- Read food labels if you really do feel the need to buy processed food
- Eat everything in moderation
PROFILE OF CURE.FIT
Started: July 2016
Founders: Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori
Based: Bangalore, India
Sector: Health & wellness
Size: 500 employees
Investment: $250 million
Investors: Accel, Oaktree Capital (US); Chiratae Ventures, Epiq Capital, Innoven Capital, Kalaari Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Piramal Group’s Anand Piramal, Pratithi Investment Trust, Ratan Tata (India); and Unilever Ventures (Unilever’s global venture capital arm)
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 194hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 275Nm from 2,000-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Price: from Dh155,000
On sale: now
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
The specs: 2018 Ducati SuperSport S
Price, base / as tested: Dh74,900 / Dh85,900
Engine: 937cc
Transmission: Six-speed gearbox
Power: 110hp @ 9,000rpm
Torque: 93Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 5.9L / 100km
Company profile
Company name: Suraasa
Started: 2018
Founders: Rishabh Khanna, Ankit Khanna and Sahil Makker
Based: India, UAE and the UK
Industry: EdTech
Initial investment: More than $200,000 in seed funding
MATCH INFO
Azerbaijan 0
Wales 2 (Moore 10', Wilson 34')
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Blah
Started: 2018
Founder: Aliyah Al Abbar and Hend Al Marri
Based: Dubai
Industry: Technology and talent management
Initial investment: Dh20,000
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 40
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Duterte Harry: Fire and Fury in the Philippines
Jonathan Miller, Scribe Publications