Iran war sparks energy crisis

Summary

Front Burner (CBC) — "Iran war sparks energy crisis"
Host: Jamie Poisson | Guest: Jim Crane, Rice University's Baker Institute | Air Date: March 10, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode delves into the escalating global energy crisis ignited by the ongoing war in the Middle East, particularly following Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz and attacks on neighboring energy infrastructure. With oil prices spiking above $100 a barrel and global supply chains in turmoil, host Jamie Poisson speaks with Jim Crane, a Middle East energy expert at Rice University’s Baker Institute, to unpack the stakes for oil producers, consumers, and the world economy.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Strait of Hormuz Shutdown

(00:37–05:38)

• The Strait of Hormuz, described as “the artery of 20% of the world’s oil and gas,” is effectively closed after Iranian threats and attacks. Qatar’s LNG production is also halted after Iranian missile strikes.
• Crane emphasizes the strait’s unique role:

  "The Strait of Hormuz is just one of those critical nodes in the global economy that... the economy cannot function without." (Jim Crane, 02:38)

• Its closure is unprecedented and is precisely why countries maintain strategic petroleum reserves.

Notable Quote

“This is the rationale for all these strategic petroleum reserves around the world.”
(Jim Crane, 03:29)

2. Potential for Naval Escalation and Alternate Routes

(03:47–05:38)

• Former President Trump called for U.S. tankers to cross the strait regardless of Iranian threats. Crane dismisses this as unrealistic, referencing historical vulnerabilities (“super easy to hit one of those tanker ships”) and the limitations of military force given the geography and Iran’s proximity.
• There is no viable alternate route:

  "There's just one entry and one exit from the Persian Gulf."
  (Jim Crane, 05:08)

Notable Quote

"You don’t need a navy to block the Strait of Hormuz."
(Jim Crane, 04:51)

3. Winners, Losers, and Ramifications

(05:38–08:04)

• The hardest hit are both exporting (Iraq, Kuwait, possibly Saudi Arabia) and importing countries, especially those with less storage capacity—Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, and Taiwan.
• Exporters are facing field shutdowns while importers, especially in Asia, are anticipating severe shortages.

Notable Quote

"There’s lots of pain for exporting countries in that region and then eventually for importing countries."
(Jim Crane, 06:48)

4. Feasibility of Reopening the Strait

(07:50–09:14)

• U.S. methods from the 1980s included naval escorts but the current context is more fraught, with the U.S. now a direct combatant and legitimate target.
• The physical geography means Iran can easily target shipping:

  "From the Iranian side, the strait is only 20 miles across. You can see Iran very easily... you can see the tankers going past right in front of you."
  (Jim Crane, 08:42)

5. Attacks on Iranian Oil Facilities & Strategic Options

(10:26–12:40)

• Israel’s attacks on Iranian oil facilities raise the question of whether seizing oil infrastructure is plausible. Crane notes that the main Kharg Island terminal remains untargeted due to fears of massive escalation, but if the situation worsens, it could change.
• Crane is skeptical of a U.S. or Israeli takeover of Iranian oil assets, citing the logistical and political near-impossibility:

  "It would take so many... boots on the ground to capture Iranian oil infrastructure and keep that flowing..."
  (Jim Crane, 13:31)

Notable Quote

“I think Iran would be just a bridge too far.”
(Jim Crane, 14:30)

6. Comparing the Current Crisis to the 1970s Oil Shocks

(14:35–19:18)

• Poisson and Crane compare today’s circumstances to the shocks of 1973 and 1978–79, driven first by Arab oil embargoes and then the Iranian Revolution and Gulf wars.
• Differences: the modern economy is less oil-intensive; there are substitutions like electric vehicles; and today’s outage affects a larger share (10-20 million barrels/day vs. lower in the 70s).
• A key dynamic: the U.S. is now a combatant and a target, not just a security guarantor.

Notable Quote

"This is a much messier situation this time around than you had last time."
(Jim Crane, 18:36)

7. Strategic Reserves and Buffer Capacity

(19:18–21:21)

• Some countries (Japan, China) have significant reserves—China nearly equals the entire OECD’s.
• The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve was not refilled after the 2022 drawdowns, making North America less secure on storage, but as net exporters, the U.S. and Canada face price rather than supply risk.

Notable Quote

"We might take a hit on prices here in the U.S. and Canada, but I don't think the supply is at risk... like it is in these net oil importing countries."
(Jim Crane, 20:54)

8. Price Effects & How the Crisis Hits Ordinary People

(22:36–25:28)

• Oil price increases cascade into everyday inflation:

  “Every $10 increase in the price of a barrel of oil pushes up gasoline prices here in the U.S. by about 25 cents.”
  (Jim Crane, 23:05)

• Transportation is difficult to substitute ("people are just willing to pay for no matter how much it costs"), trickling through the entire economy.
• The Gulf crisis also chokes off fertilizer (hurting food supply chains), sulfur (vital for metals), and aluminum, leading to wider product shortages and higher prices.
• LNG disruptions push up prices and force a fallback to coal—further increasing environmental harms.

Notable Quote

“Without enough fertilizer, food yields, crop yields will go down and food will get a lot more expensive.”
(Jim Crane, 24:15)

9. The Risk of a Broader Economic Crisis

(25:34–27:13)

• Qatar’s energy minister warned the crisis could "bring down the economies of the world." Crane says this is realistic for countries like Qatar that depend on export revenue, but for most others the risk is severe inflation and stagnation ("stagflation"), not total economic collapse.

Notable Quote

“I think the world will be in for a real tough patch. Is it an existential crisis for everybody? No, it’s not.”
(Jim Crane, 26:55)

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Memorable Quotes

• "The world consumes about just over 100 million barrels a day and about 20 pass through the Strait [of Hormuz]."
  – Jim Crane, 02:41

• “You can completely insulate yourself from geopolitical risk in the oil market if you buy an electric vehicle.”
  – Jim Crane, 17:10

• “This time it’s not [OPEC making careful adjustments], it’s happening in a much more chaotic way and nobody really knows how we’re going to be affected.”
  – Jim Crane, 21:12

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Key Timestamps

• 00:37 — Opening scene-set: Strait of Hormuz crisis, oil price spike
• 02:38 — Strategic importance of the Strait explained
• 03:47 — Trump’s comments, tanker risks
• 05:38 — Ramifications for oil exporters and importers
• 08:04 — Reflagging/escorting tankers: why it’s not a solution now
• 10:26 — Israeli attacks on Iran, strategic value of Kharg Island
• 14:35 — 1970s oil crises, comparison to now
• 19:18 — Oil reserves, U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve status
• 22:36 — Impact on consumers and daily life
• 25:34 — Can Qatar’s warning of economic collapse come true?
• 27:13 — Jamie Poisson’s sign-off

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Tone and Takeaways

The tone is urgent, analytical, and at times somber, reflecting the gravity of the historic crisis. Jim Crane brings context, historical analogies, and data-driven explanations, while Jamie Poisson grounds the macro effects in consumers’ daily reality. The episode drives home the interconnectedness of the modern global economy and the profound vulnerability of energy-dependent countries to shocks in the Gulf, with broad direct and ripple effects on commodity prices, inflation, logistics, and food security. Despite the dire outlook, Crane offers measured perspectives on how bad things can get, distinguishing between countries facing existential threats and those burdened by painful economic adjustment.

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Transcript

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[Jim Crane]

This is a cbc podcast.

[Jamie Poisson]

Hi, everyone, I'm jamie poisson. We are well into week two of the war in the Middle east, and the world is facing one of the most severe shocks to energy markets since the 1970s. Oil prices have now surged to over $100 a barrel, the highest they have been in years, driving up fuel prices for consumers around the world. The Strait of Hormuz, the artery of 20% of the world's oil and gas, is effectively shut down. Iran has threatened to set on fire any ship that dares to cross. Qatar has shut down production of liquefied natural gas after Iran struck two of its sites. The the country makes up one fifth of the world's LNG exports. In the aftermath, we've seen natural gas prices spike in both Asia and Europe. The fear of an energy crisis that threatens the global economy is no longer theoretical. To talk through the very high stakes here, I am joined by Jim Crane. He is a fellow in Middle East Energy Studies at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy in Texas. Jim was also a longtime Associated Press reporter based in the Middle East. Jim, hi. Thanks so much for coming onto the show. It's really great to have you.

[Jim Crane]

Thanks, Jamie. It's great to be here.

[Jamie Poisson]

Let's start with the Strait of Hormuz. These oil producers are not sending their tankers through this narrow maritime choke point off Iran's southern coast. And as a result, oil producing countries in the region are slowing or stopping production.

[News Reporter]

This is the fear. An oil tanker apparently hit by a drone off the coast of Oman. Unclear who launched it, but Iran is warning vessels do not pass.

[Jim Crane]

Attention all ship. Attention all ship. From now on, all navigating through the Strait of Hormuz is forbidden.

[Jamie Poisson]

How significant is this strait?

[Jim Crane]

Well, yeah, I mean, it's huge, right? So the Strait of Hormuz is just one of those critical nodes in the global economy that, you know, really the economy cannot function without. So, you know, world consumes about just over 100 million barrels a day and about 20 pass through the Strait. And natural gas, right. LNG, also about 20% of liquefied natural gas cargoes pass through the Strait and as we're finding out now, lots of other really important stuff passes through the Strait, you know, both directions. Right. So aluminum fertilizer, sulfur, you know, glass. It is super important. As far as the precedent for this, we don't really have one. So this has never happened before. The situation we're in now is the rationale for all these strategic petroleum reserves around the world. So the one we have here in the US there's various others, you know, China, you know, all the OECD countries have them.

[Jamie Poisson]

Yeah.

[Jim Crane]

And that's why we have them, is for something just like this. So it's a big deal.

[Jamie Poisson]

Yeah. I want to get to those reserves with you in a couple of minutes. But first, on Sunday, according to Fox News, Trump said, quote, these ships should go through the Strait of Hormuz and show some guts. There's nothing to be afraid of. We sunk all of their ships. He's like referring to the Iranian navy. What do you make of that?

[Jim Crane]

Well, I mean, I don't think anybody's taking orders from Trump. I'm sure they'd like to. They'd love to get through the straight, you know, if they're tankers with full cargos waiting to get out or empty tankers trying to get in, but they're unwilling to do it because it's super easy to hit one of those tanker ships. I mean, we saw it in the tanker war in the 80s. You had, you know, more than 200 oil tankers hit and about, I think 55 of them actually sunk, went to the bottom. And then we just saw just over a year, the Houthi, you know, much less capable quasi state actor, I guess you could call them, they were able to completely shut another global choke point, the Babel Mandeb, and prevent transit of the Red Sea. Even with the US Navy there. Right. The Houthi don't have a navy either. So, so you don't need a navy to, to block the Strait of horror moves.

[Jamie Poisson]

And could these tankers take an alternate route here?

[Jim Crane]

No, there's, it's, there's just one entry and one exit from the Persian Gulf. So, so you did have an alternate in, in the Red Sea. Right. So if you, you, if you can't get out the Babel Munda, but, you know, if the Houthis are blocking it, you can go out the Suez Canal at the top. Right. But we're not in that situation here.

[Jamie Poisson]

If this goes on for several more weeks or months, I just wonder if you could play it out for me. Who will be the hardest hit here. What are some of the ramifications we

[Jim Crane]

are looking at, you know, you know, I don't know how long it could be closed. I could, you know, it could stay closed the entire war. I mean, I know Trump's got, got an idea for a couple ideas for reopening it. Whether or not those work are. So if we assume it's going to stay closed, you know, things get increasingly dire. Right. We're seeing price jumps. So the oil price has been jumping, not as much as I would have expected, but it's, you know, was up over, was close to $120 for a little while today. Natural gas prices are way up. So that's being affected. LNG prices in Europe and in Asia, which, you know, Asia is where most of the oil and the gas is going. So that's where probably where a lot of the pain will, will start for oil and gas is. You know, the importing countries, you know, if they actually cannot get their hands on supply, you know, that would affect them. But the exporting countries are the ones who are really under the, under the spotlight right now. They're having to shut in their fields. So Iraq started, now Kuwait is shutting in production. I've heard Saudi Arabia is either thinking about it or has already started. So, yeah, I mean, it's, it, there's lots of pain for exporting countries in that region and then eventually for importing countries. I mean, you know, oil importing countries that the, the more developed ones have a, have a buffer. The ones that don't have oil and storage are probably the ones that are going to see more pain in the short run.

[Jamie Poisson]

Like who?

[Jim Crane]

So Pakistan, Bangladesh, India. I've heard Taiwan was in a tough spot here.

[Jamie Poisson]

I read that as well. Yeah.

[Jim Crane]

Yeah. So I don't know, you know, either if how much storage they have or, you know, whether it's, you know, it's something, if it's another problem, you know,

[Jamie Poisson]

you mentioned that Trump has maybe some ideas to try and open it back up, I guess. But if all you need is like a missile to take out one of these ships, like, how could they even force its reopening?

[Jim Crane]

Yeah, so we did. In the 80s, the U.S. navy, you know, reflagged oil tankers with U.S. flags and then escorted them out in convoys with U.S. ships. And it worked. You know, the, you know, so that was a war between Iran and Iraq and they were targeting all sorts of oil infrastructure and shipping. But the US Was, you know, in that, in that war, not a combatant. I think that's key here. You know, we, we started this war. You know our, our navy is, you know the legitimate military targets for the Iranians. So it's would seem to me be to be very easy to, to cause lots of trouble with even simple weapons like even a single person with a shoulder fired missile or some type of anti ship missile. From the Iranian side, the strait is only 20 miles across. You can see Iran very easily. I mean I used to spend time on the Omani side of the Strait of Hormuz on the Musandam peninsula. You can see the Iranian side, you can see the tankers going past right in front of you. That's still to come. Potentially.

[Energy Department Official]

Foreign.

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[News Reporter]

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[Jamie Poisson]

On Sunday, Israel targeted Iran's oil facilities for the first time. Depots and a refinery. We talked about this on the show yesterday and our guest who covers the Middle east for the Economist made the point that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards payroll is dependent on the oil industry. And do you think that we could see Israel and the US Try to seize oil within Iran in the coming days? And how could they do that?

[Jim Crane]

Yeah, I've been thinking about this too. I mean, I think they could so far the big Kharg island terminal, the main Iranian export terminal on a small island in the Gulf. You know that's been off limits, right? So. So, you know, I think the US has made it really clear to the Israelis, as they did last June in the 12 day war, not to hit the Carg island terminal. I mean, Iran has made clear for decades that that's really an inflection point for them. It would trigger a major escalation beyond what we're seeing now. But if things get bad enough, the Carg island is, is going to be target. You know, the Saudis have already warned if their oil, their, their ability to export oil is impaired, you know, they'll go after Carg Island. You know, could US commandos or Israeli commandos seize it? You know, sort of the, the Venezuela playbook? I mean, possibly. I mean, there's no compliant actor inside Iran yet. You know, that could work with the US as we, you know, we have in Venezuela.

[Jamie Poisson]

I, I've seen some analysts say that if there is a ground invasion, that the island would be one of the most strategic targets. Right. Where, you know, 90% of Iran's oil export comes from. Just, you know, Iran's crude oil reserves make up about 12% of the world's total. And so just from the US's perspective, what could seizing that along with their own shale and what they're doing in Venezuela, what does it mean kind of for the US strategic interest. Right, because you hear people talk about how maybe oil is part of their end game here. I'm just trying to like, understand that.

[Jim Crane]

Well, I mean, I think right now the US would like Iran to keep exporting because that oil is needed in the global economy. I mean, ironically, it seems like this ships that are able to get through the Strait of Hormuz right now are mostly Iranian carriers or ones or ships that are carrying Iranian crude. And, you know, it's helping keep prices a little bit less than they might otherwise be if, if, you know, if Carg island was, were seized. So I think, you know, even though the Iranians are getting that revenue for the strategic calculations, the us, I think they'd like to keep it going just, just to keep that extra oil, you know, for the same reason. That's why we're temporarily giving sanctions waivers on Russian crude.

[Jamie Poisson]

Right. Do you think that greater control over Iran's oil industry is part of their plan here?

[Jim Crane]

I think it would be really hard for the US to control Iran's oil industry. It's a big country. There's 92 million people there. It is not in the same sad shape that Venezuela was in. There's so much opposition. It would take so many, you know, boots on the ground to capture Iranian oil infrastructure and keep that flowing if there was a government in Tehran that was bent on that not happening. So I don't think the US could really commandeer Iran's oil industry. I mean, I think Iran has strategic value because it has an oil industry. And you know, oil exporting countries tend to attract more military intervention because of their strategic importance. But, but I think it would be really, really hard. You know, we couldn't even do it in Syria. So, you know, I think Iran would be, you know, just a bridge too far.

[Jamie Poisson]

You've already brought up some kind of historical examples here, but you know, there were a couple of big oil shocks in the 1970s. I want to parse with you. There was one in 1973 when some Arab states cut off oil production and limited exports in protest of the US as support for Israel in the Yom Kippur war.

[1970s Government Official]

To increase the supply of heating oil that will be available this winter, we must adjust production schedules and divert petroleum which might normally go for the production of gasoline to the production of, of more heating oil. I am asking tonight that all gasoline filling stations close down their pumps between 9pm Saturday night and midnight Sunday every weekend beginning December 1st.

[Jamie Poisson]

Prices quadrupled within three months. And then in 1979, following the revolution in Iran. Can you remind us what happened then?

[Jim Crane]

Yeah, I mean, so prices went from 3 to 12 in the, you know, US dollars in 73 and then in 78, 79. The Iranian Revolution and then the Iran Iraq war pushed them up into the $40 range above $40 in the, in the early 80s. You know, Iran completely halted oil exports in 1978. So you know, that that was sort of the start of that second oil crisis in the 70s.

[Public Citizen]

The energy crisis has not yet overwhelmed us, but it will if we do not act quickly. It's a problem that we will not be able to solve in the next few years and it's likely to get progressively worse through the rest of this century. We must not be selfish or timid if we hope to have a decent world for our children and our grandchildren. We simply must balance our demand for energy with our rapidly shrinking resources.

[Jim Crane]

You had all this panic buying that was going on. I'm up. I'm in here for now already. There's no shortage. I don't believe there's a shortage.

[Public Citizen]

This is the second gas line this morning.

[Jim Crane]

What happened at the first? They ran out. I've been in two gas lines already this morning. This morning. How long did you wait for the first? Been in both lines over hour and I'm out of gas. Dead out There was, you know, Iraq and Iran fought a really long war with more than A million people killed. You know, Iraqi exports were also, you know, compromised. And then you had that tanker war that kicked off with all those ships hit.

[News Reporter]

What's happening is that the war on land between Iran and Iraq is spilling over into the sea, with Western tankers being the sitting targets for both sides. It's a voyage through the area where 14 oil tankers have now been hit by air attack from Iran or Iraq.

Missiles against tankers are the weapons that both sides are using to try and break the stalemate in their war on land. Iraq began with Exocets. Iran has hit back at ships like this one, the chemical venture.

[Jim Crane]

Really a terrible time in oil markets, but big differences with what we have today. Right? So at that time, the global economy was way more oil intensive, right? We used a lot more oil per dollar of GDP then than we do now. We've made enormous efficiency improvements in use of oil. Right? Especially in the transport sector. Back in the 70s, cars were just not very efficient, and now they're more efficient than they were back then. And now you can completely insulate yourself from geopolitical risk in the oil market if you buy an electric vehicle. So there's substitutes now for oil that didn't exist back then. But, you know, you know, this is a bigger outage than we had in the 70s, right? This is, you know, between 10 and 20 million barrels a day. Yes, markets are. Have some slack in them still. They're still oversupplied, which, you know, in the 70s they were really tight. But we have the US as a. Not as a more of a neutral observer this time we're a combatant. I mean, it's the US that actually caused this problem. So, so we are a combatant. We're a target in this situation. And, you know, we're supposed to be the player that guarantees the security of our allies in the Gulf. And our Gulf allies are finding out that, oh, our security provider is not only causing the insecurity, but its security forces and embassies are actually the target set, you know, for Iran, you know, to hit inside our country. So, you know, it's a very, you know, it's a much messier situation that this time around than you had last time.

[Jamie Poisson]

And also these countries own infrastructure and energy infrastructure too, Right? I think Saudi Arabia was saying that they shot down a drone that was aimed at one of their oil fields. I think. I want to come back to this idea of reserves. The Trump administration is saying that they have more leeway to act because there's ample supply. How much of a buffer is there here.

[Jim Crane]

There's weeks and weeks of buffer oil and storage in some places. So Japan has got between 100 and 200 days worth of total imports in storage inside Japan. So China has got 1.2 billion barrels of oil in storage from what I hear. So that's about what the entire OECD has in storage. So they've, they've got, you know, basically the exact, the same amount as the entire developed world in storage in China. You know, the US Has a Strategic Petroleum Reserve, but unfortunately we did not refill it after the, you know, Biden administration, you know, drained it. During, you know, high oil prices. At election time 2022, the Department of

[Energy Department Official]

Energy will release another 15 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, extending our previously announced release through the month of December. I've told my team behind me here to be prepared to look further, look for further releases in the months ahead if needed.

[Jim Crane]

So we're not in quite as secure a situation, I guess, with our reserves. But you know, the US is also a net oil exporter, so, so we might take a hit on, on prices here in the US And Canada. But, you know, we, I don't think the supply is at risk in the US or in, in Canada like it is during, you know, in these net oil importing countries.

[Jamie Poisson]

I wonder if you could explain to me a little bit more why countries like Canada and the U.S. would take a hit on prices when supply isn't really an issue.

[Jim Crane]

Well, we're relatively minor exporters compared to the Saudis and the big producers in the Persian Gulf. I mean, that's where oil prices are formed in the Gulf. I mean, Saudi Arabia is the world' largest oil exporter and so when it changes production, you know, it usually does this through OPEC and makes a big announcements, you know, that that moves the price. So their inability to get oil to market is moving the price as well. So, so you know that if you imagine the global oil market like a bathtub with lots of spigots pouring oil into it, lots of different players increasing and, and sometimes decreasing. Right now there's a, you know, a couple of spigots have either turned all the way off or starting to, and you know, we're still taking just as much oil out of the drain, so that causes the price to go up. So yes, sometimes it happens through opec. You know, they sort of calibrate it carefully and this time it's not, it's happening much more chaotic way and, and nobody really knows how we're going to be affected by all that.

[Jamie Poisson]

I take your point there, but I wonder if we could spend a little bit of time sort of trying to make this a little bit more concrete for people in how this could affect their everyday lives. Right. And I know you talk about how everything we buy and consume has an energy signature and I just, I wonder if you could just elaborate for me a little bit more on what you mean by that and how this could affect sort of how people go about their days and their lives in the coming days and weeks and beyond that.

[Jim Crane]

Yeah, I mean, our research shows that every $10 increase in the price of a barrel of oil pushes up gasoline prices here in the US by about 25 cents. Since we use oil as our main transportation fuel, it's about 90ish percent of global transportation services are provided by oil based fuels. Because of that, you know, it's not easy to substitute for oil and transportation is one of those things that people are just willing to pay for no matter how much it costs. Right. There's not a lot of price elasticity in, in transportation. If you, if you've got a 20 mile commute to work every day, you know, and the price of your fuel doubles, you still need to get to work. You don't have a lot of options, you know, so it's going to trickle, trickle into the economy as, as inflation. It's going to, you know, triggering inflation in, in transportation costs for, you know, individuals, but also for moving goods around the world. This crisis isn't just hampering oil supply, it's also keeping fertilizer, you know, off the market. You know, so the Gulf countries are also really, really big fertilizer exporters. You know, without enough fertilizer, food yields, crop yields will, will go down and food will get a lot more expensive.

[Jamie Poisson]

All of a sudden, like, sorry, like a loaf of bread costs more because the fertilizer used to grow it is stuck in like a Qatari port.

[Jim Crane]

Yeah. And then, you know, your wheat field isn't going to produce as much wheat and it's also having ripple effects in, in metals. Right. So it turns out sulfur is used in refining nickel and copper and other metals. Right. You need to make sulfuric acid to, to do that. And 50% of the global sulfur supply comes out of the Gulf. And so, you know, countries are scrambling to find new sources of sulfur. Also there's a big aluminum smelting industry inside the Gulf. So they can't get their bauxite in to smelt it and they can't get the finished aluminum Out, So there's a force majeure there too, and then alternate fuels. So for lng, you know, we, we talked a little bit about liquefied natural gas being, you know, the 20% of that global supply is bottled up inside the Gulf right now. That's causing a price spike in coal. Right. So coal is a, is a substitute in the power market for, for gas. So.

[Jamie Poisson]

Yeah, and dirtier.

[Jim Crane]

Yeah, way dirtier. Yes. Yes. So there's a lot of really bad things.

[Jamie Poisson]

Yeah, this, I was just going to say this is really bad. Jim. I'm glad you kind of wrapped it up there. Cutter's energy minister has warned that an energy crisis triggered by the Iran conflict could, quote, bring down the economies of the world. You know, and as we've talked about, this is obviously very bad for those, those countries that depend so much on, on exporting oil. I just wonder if you think that statement is hyperbolic or if you think that he has a point. And if he does, what would the warning signs for that look like?

[Jim Crane]

Well, it's, it's. He's definitely got a point for the Cuttery economy. Right. So I mean, you know that the. Basically exporting liquefied natural gas is the basis of the Qatari state. Right. I mean, that's the richest in the world on a per capita income basis. And its economy and even its political system are based on getting natural gas out of the, the straight Hormuz into markets. So for other countries, I mean, it might be a bit hyperbolic for now. I mean, if you're not in as tight a spot, you know, if you're a country that doesn't import so much from, from the Gulf, you'll have to deal with, with higher prices on a lot of goods. There'll be a lot of inflation, maybe stagflation we're starting to hear about. So economic growth, you know, starts to, to stagnate or fall as prices go up, which is really painful. So, yeah, I mean, I think the world will be in for a real tough patch. Is it an existential crisis for everybody? No, it's not.

[Jamie Poisson]

Okay. That feels like a good place for us to end. Jim, thank you so much for this. Really appreciate it.

[Jim Crane]

Hey, my pleasure, Jamie. You know, anytime.

[Jamie Poisson]

All right, that's all for today. I'm Jamie Puel and thanks so much for listening. Talk to you tomorrow.

[Jim Crane]

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