This will not be a short war, but even if it did end soon, the damage to global oil supply flow is already done. At least 25% of global oil supply flows through the Straits of Hormuz, much of which goes to Asia. Many Asian countries are now on the verge of running out entirely. Australia and New Zealand will be badly affected, since they have little (Australia) or no ( New Zealand) capacity for refining. New Zealand gets its fuel from other Asian countries, meaning indirectly theough the Straits of Hirmuz, but that leaves us completely exposed. Those Asian countries are not going to export their own supplies in order to postpone our problems, and postpone for a short time is all they could do in any case.
The Strait was blocked, not by Iran, but initially by the insurance industry, which refused to insure cargos in a war zone. Now Iran has said it will allow some shipping to pass, but only if not involved in any way in the attack on them. In addition, payment would need to be in Chinese yuan. This could destroy the petrodollar system that has sustained the American empire for so long. Iran is perfectly capable of destroying any ship that doesn’t follow its rules with missiles, drones, armed small ships, submarines, mines, and manouverable torpedos. The Straits will stay closed for as long as Iran wants them to.
Storage in the Gulf is full, meaning that production must shut down, and once shut down, production cannot quickly resume. This means that even if the war ended, shortages in downstream countries would remain acute for a long time. People respond to scarcity by increasing demand, because they’re trying to hold on to emergency supplies. This rise in demand comes as supply is shrinking, and the response is a major price spike. Rationing system is being proposed to limit this, but one can only ration something that’s still available at some level. Confiscations of personal fuel supplies could be institued as an anti-hiarding measure. Dependent countries could find themselves with little to no fuel at all, and then in a state of chaos. A severe economic depression would result, especially since the financial system is in trouble already. A large scale ponzi scheme seems poised to unwind. Look after each other. Times are about to get difficult.





