OPINION | Iran holds the key to reopening global energy markets

Aramco has shut production from two large offshore fields, Safaniya and Zuluf, reducing output from OPEC's biggest producer by 20 per cent. In number two producer Iraq, production has dropped 70 per cent, while in the UAE, OPEC's number three producer, output has halved, according to analysts.

Total oil output cuts in the Middle East now stand at seven to 10 million barrels per day, or seven to 10 per cent of global demand, according to analysts' estimates. Qatar fully shut its liquefied natural gas production, cutting 20 per cent of the world’s LNG supplies, and told customers they may not receive cargoes until May.

​"It is simple - it is safety. We cannot risk lives," said an industry source.

(Reporting by Yousef Saba, Ahmad Ghaddar, Maha El Dahan and Ahmed Rasheed; Editing by Dmitry Zhdannikov, Simon Webb and Kirsten Donovan)