BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 12. Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs and the President and CEO of QatarEnergy, called for a new world energy order in which energy is kept above politics and is never made a victim or target of conflict, QatarEnergy said.
He made the remarks on October 11 during the 17th International Energy Forum Ministerial Meeting in Riyadh, convened under the theme “Energy Security - A Shared Responsibility: Market Fundamentals, Supply Chain Resilience, and the New Dynamics of Demand and Supply.
Minister Al-Kaabi said the conflict in the Middle East has caused what is, “by far, the world’s worst energy crisis,” affecting the flow of around 20% of the world’s hydrocarbon supplies. He added that many regional energy assets across the region had been targeted, causing tens of billions of dollars in damage and severe volatility in global markets.
“If there is one lesson we have learned from the past few months, it is that energy security, as critical as it is to the global economy, remains highly vulnerable and inseparable from geopolitical security,” H.E. Al-Kaabi added. His Excellency also highlighted the wider human consequences, noting that a billion people still lack access to electricity and that approximately four billion people depend on food produced using manufactured fertilizers. He stated that “the impact on all those lives should remind us of our shared responsibility to safeguard energy security, protect the free flow of energy, and keep energy above politics and conflicts.”
Minister Al-Kaabi called on the Forum to explore every possible avenue to protect energy infrastructure during times of conflict, saying: “It is a real problem that energy infrastructure has become both an economic asset and a strategic military target. Energy security must unite us, not divide us. It must be protected, not weaponized.”
Despite the rise in the number of attacks, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates that oil exports from the Middle East increased in September compared with August, while the volume of production curtailments decreased.
“We assess that crude oil production shut-ins averaged 4.8 million b/d in September, down from 5.8 million b/d in August and down from 10.9 million b/d at the peak in May,” the latest report by the EIA states.
In the fourth quarter of 2026, the EIA expects restrictions on oil flows from the Middle East to persist. The average volume of curtailed production is forecast to be 4.5 million barrels per day.
The EIA also notes an increase in risks for tankers transiting the region. This has led to higher freight rates and insurance costs, and has also increased the risk premium factored into oil prices.
“High tanker rates, which reached record levels in September, reflect increasing insurance costs and are putting additional upward pressure on delivered crude oil prices to refiners,” the EIA notes.
In addition, vessels are forced to take longer routes to avoid conflict zones, which reduces the number of available tankers.
Against this backdrop, the EIA estimates that global oil inventories declined by an average of 1.9 million b/d in the third quarter of 2026 and will fall an additional 0.7 million b/d on average in 4Q26.