New oil pipelines will make Strait of Hormuz 'worthless', says US Treasury chief Bessent

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent expects supply chain disruptions in the <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/strait-of-hormuz/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" title="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/strait-of-hormuz/">Strait of Hormuz</a> to soon be a thing of the past, as Gulf states fast-track alternatives to send energy supplies to the global market. “The oil will be going on pipelines across the land. In two years, the Straits of Hormuz will be a worthless piece of water,” Mr Bessent said at the <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/economy/2026/08/30/g20-iran/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" title="https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/economy/2026/08/30/g20-iran/">G20 finance gathering</a> in North Carolina. About 20 per cent of the world’s energy supplies crossed the strait before the Iran war began on February 28. <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/energy/2026/08/28/oil-prices-swing-between-war-risk-and-diplomacy-after-six-months-of-iran-standoff/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" title="https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/energy/2026/08/28/oil-prices-swing-between-war-risk-and-diplomacy-after-six-months-of-iran-standoff/">Brent crude prices</a> at one point during the six-month conflict neared $120 a barrel. Diplomatic efforts to reopen the waterway softened oil prices before recent escalations saw Brent crude settling at about $94 a barrel on Tuesday.