Business
Iran war highlights Gulf’s key role as industrial raw materials supplier
Far beyond oil and gas, the Iran war has highlighted the Gulf’s role as an indispensable supplier of the world’s industrial raw materials, analysts have noted.
"The conflict has put an end to any discussion on whether Gulf economies are diversified, as they have now clearly shown themselves to be an inseparable part of the global petrochemical industry, far beyond their traditional role as oil and gas exporters,” Nikolay Kozjharnov, research associate professor in energy security at the Gulf Studies Center at Qatar University, told James Bays during Al Jazeera’s ‘Inside Story’.
Kozjharnov, who was joined by macroeconomist and oil and gas specialist Cornelia Meyer and Torbjorn Soltvedt, associate director at global risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft, reiterated that the conflict had exposed the Gulf as a key supplier of raw materials to industries that consumers rarely associate with the region.
"It clearly shows that they are an inseparable part of the global petrochemical industry, which is extremely dependent on the feedstock coming from the Gulf,” he further pointed out. The Middle East accounted for more than "40%” of global polyethylene exports in 2025, according to industry analysts, making it a critical supplier for packaging, automotive, and consumer goods manufacturers worldwide.
"The global economy should be prepared for the lack of very key, very basic materials for its functioning,” warned Kozjharnov, who also raised a longer-term concern – that the conflict was damaging the Gulf’s reputation as a reliable industrial partner, with traditional consumers likely to revise their dependence on the region once hostilities end.
Soltvedt warned that the crisis had generated a global bidding war across all commodity types — energy, fertiliser, and petrochemicals alike — with wealthier nations outbidding poorer ones.
He noted that demand destruction was already visible in South and Southeast Asia, where governments had been forced into drastic measures to bring down consumption.
Meyer cautioned that alternative pipeline routes bypassing the Strait of Hormuz, including Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline and the UAE’s Fujairah link, could together move only around "6mn barrels per day” against a shortfall of approximately "20mn.” "It just goes to show how dependent the world is on that narrow waterway,” she emphasised.