AFP, Johannesburg, 17 Jan 2012 – The world has enough oil suppliers to continue meeting its needs even if Iran moves to disrupt supply in response to Western sanctions over its nuclear programme, a US official said Tuesday.
‘It’s a global market, and oil is fungible and easily moved around,’ Deputy Energy Secretary Daniel Poneman told journalists in Johannesburg.
‘Which is precisely why we think that if we handle this responsibly and well, that the world will be able to satisfy its current demands without disruptions even as we try to make sure that we ramp up the pressure on Iran to comply with their non-proliferation obligations.’
Oil markets have been jittery amid escalating tensions over Iran’s threat to close down the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the narrow channel at the entrance to the Gulf through which 20 percent of the world’s oil flows.
Western governments have moved to step up sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme, threatening an embargo on oil exports.
The step has drawn an angry response from Tehran, which has in turn threatened to shut the strait if it is attacked or heavy sanctions are imposed.
The standoff has driven oil prices soaring over $100 a barrel, hitting an eight-month high earlier this month.
But Poneman downplayed the impact of a closure, saying oil producers in Africa and the Americas have been stepping up their role in world supply.
Poneman was speaking in Johannesburg during an Africa tour that will include a stop in Ghana to discuss expanding its oil sector.
Ghana began large-scale production about a year ago from an oil field known as Jubilee, one of the largest recent discoveries in West Africa.