Could global energy markets become a weapon in the Hamas-Israel War?

50 years ago, a war in the Middle East led, within weeks, to the imposition by the Arab Gulf States of an embargo on exports to Israel’s allies including the UK, Japan, the Netherlands and the USA. Although the embargo lasted for less than six months the result was a quadrupling of prices provoking a surge in inflation and a deep recession. The structure of the energy industry was also affected. Power had shifted from the oil majors who for decades had controlled “concessions” in the producing s