Gulf oil ministers met Sunday in Abu Dhabi but avoided discussing options to reroute oil as a precautionary measure to mitigate the impact of any blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Gulf oil ministers met Sunday in
Abu
Dhabi
but avoided discussing options to reroute oil as a
precautionary measure to mitigate the impact of any blockade of the
Strait
of Hormuz
.
The ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council, or GCC, in their route meeting
recommended the approval of a unified mining law and examined the United
Nations' framework convention on climate change as well as Kyoto Protocol, the
six-nation bloc said in a statement.
The GCC regional states--Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait,
Bahrain and Oman--senior Gulf oil officials said this weekend that the
ministers may discuss rerouting oil as Iran started war games Saturday around
the vital oil route and after Western consuming nations Tuesday sought more
Gulf oil in case Tehran comes under an international embargo. The strait,
located between
Iran
and
Oman
,
handles about 33% of all ocean-borne traded oil.
"We are concerned about
Iran
's
move and there are informal talks between ministers about it...but there is no
need to take any action until something serious happens," a senior Gulf
oil official said.
A rumor in mid-December that
Iran
was
preparing to shut the strait was fueled by the announcement that it was
preparing military exercises. The Islamic Republic has since denied the war
games, which started Saturday, would lead to a blockade of the route. But the
news comes amid heightened tensions between the West and
Iran
over
its controversial nuclear program. An Iranian lawmaker warned last Sunday that
Tehran
could
block the strait if it comes under an international oil embargo, citing
proposed
U.S.
sanctions against
Iran
's central
bank.
In addition, European nations are considering a regional ban on Iranian crude
and met with officials from Gulf countries Tuesday in
Rome
to
seek possible oil-supply replacements.
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