High Oil Prices Could Persist Long After Strait of Hormuz Reopens, Industry Insider Says

A decade of upstream underinvestment, coupled with geopolitical tension, makes it hard to ramp up production in the near term, an energy economist says.

A pump jack and drilling rig south of Midland, Texas, on June 11, 2025. Eli Hartman/Reuters

With the Strait of Hormuz—the primary gateway for Middle East oil exports—effectively shut down by Iran, the prices of both crude oil and gasoline have surged since the start of the U.S.–Israel war with Iran on Feb. 28.

As negotiations between the United States and Iran to end the war continue, an industry insider predicts upward pressure for oil prices will persist for decades, citing structural underinvestment in the oil industry.