The Arrangement - The Chokepoint (Part4/8)

Part 4 of 8. Thirty-four miles wide. One fifth of the world's daily oil supply passes through it. When it closed, European gas prices jumped 70%, South Korea's stock market crashed 12% in a single day, and Russia counted its profits without firing a single shot.

In this episode of The Arrangement, a special 8-part series from Unusual Practice, we follow the economics of war: the Strait of Hormuz, why Europe's four-year effort to escape Russian energy dependency led them directly into another chokepoint, France's performance of principle versus its documented defence contracts, Spain's prime minister threatened within hours of saying no, and why America, which imports only 7% of its oil through the Strait, went to war over water it barely needs.

The real beneficiaries of this conflict are not the countries fighting it.

Sources:

1. Strait of Hormuz oil flow volumes — US Energy Information Administration

   https://www.eia.gov/international/analysis/regions-of-interest/Hormuz

2. European gas storage levels February 2026 — European Commission Gas Storage

   https://ec.europa.eu/energy/observatory/reports/gas-storage

3. Qatar LNG global export share — International Energy Agency

   https://www.iea.org/countries/qatar

4. France defence agreements with Gulf states — French Ministry of Foreign Affairs

   https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/country-files/gulf-cooperation-council/

5. Trump threat to Spain over war criticism — Reuters

   https://www.reuters.com/world/trump-threatens-spain-economic-consequences-iran-criticism/

6. Russia oil revenue benefit from Middle East disruption — Financial Times

   https://www.ft.com/content/russia-oil-revenue-hormuz-disruption

7. South Korea stock market crash — Bloomberg

   https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/south-korea-kospi-hormuz-crash-2026

8. Petrodollar arrangement — Nixon 1974 Saudi agreement — Federal Reserve History

   https://www.federalreservehistory.org/essays/oil-embargo