Some of the world's leading oil executives and energy ministers expressed growing concern over the longterm effects of the war on the global economy, although U.S. ?Energy Secretary Chris Wright played down the crisis.
"The consequence is not only high energy prices. It will damage ?other supply chains,” said Patrick Pouyanne, CEO of TotalEnergies, pointing also to disruptions of helium shipments from the Middle East. ?Helium is key for semiconductors and medical supplies.
Wright, speaking at the annual CERAWeek conference in Houston, said oil prices had yet to climb high enough to hurt demand.
?Gasoline prices have soared by more than 30% to their highest level since 2022 at nearly $4 a gallon since the conflict started.
"This is a conflict that we simply couldn't kick down the road," Wright said. He said the administration had taken steps to calm energy markets, including releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Sultan Al Jaber, CEO of Abu Dhabi's state oil company ADNOC, warned the jump in oil prices was slowing economic growth globally.
"This is raising the cost of living for those who can least afford it and slowing economic growth everywhere. From factories to farms to families around the world, the human cost is mounting by the day," Al Jaber said.
(Reuters, March 23, 2026)
