Photo=Freepik.com

Following the U.S. 'Operation Epic Fury,' Iran disrupted operations at Saudi Aramco's oil refineries and Qatar's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities through drone attacks.

To disrupt maritime transport routes in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran also carried out drone attacks on oil tankers.

This news had an immediate impact on global markets and U.S. oil prices.

Iran's attacks were an act of retaliation against the U.S.'s Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) allies, which account for nearly 30% of global oil exports.

Saudi Arabia's Ras Tanura refinery partially suspended operations on Monday following an Iranian drone attack, and QatarEnergy, the largest LNG producer in the Gulf, also halted operations.

The Fujairah oil industry complex in the United Arab Emirates experienced a fire on Tuesday due to an Iranian airstrike, delaying oil tanker refueling and further increasing uncertainty.

Additionally, according to maritime traffic alerts from the Joint Maritime Information Center, a series of civilian vessel attacks by Iran have led to maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz nearing zero since March 3.

If navigation in the Strait of Hormuz becomes difficult, prices could rise further, and ships may become stranded in ports due to the risk-averse sentiment of maritime insurers.

President Trump announced via Truth Social that the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) would provide political risk insurance and U.S. Navy escorts for merchant vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has attacked oil-related facilities in its Middle Eastern neighbors with the aim of paralyzing the global energy market, but the U.S. appears to be largely unaffected. This is because the U.S.'s reliance on foreign crude oil has decreased.

According to the American Petroleum Institute (API), U.S. domestic crude oil production has increased by 50%, net imports have decreased by 65%, and the share of U.S. crude oil imports from GCC countries has fallen to less than 8% since 2014.

Meanwhile, an animated map created by Reuters based on ship tracking data from the MarineTraffic platform clearly shows the near cessation of oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz after the U.S. and Israel launched airstrikes against Iran on February 28 (Saturday).

According to Reuters' estimates based on MarineTraffic data, at least 200 vessels, including oil tankers, LNG carriers, and cargo ships, were anchored in international waters off the coast of major Gulf oil-producing countries such as Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar.

Reuters reported that at least eight vessels have been hit in the region since the conflict with Iran began.

U.S. NNP=Hong Seong-gu Chief Reporter / Special Correspondent NNP info@newsandpost.com