https://sputnikglobe.com/20260518/why-water-crisis-could-hit-the-middle-east-harder-than-oil-shock-1124142544.html
Why Water Crisis Could Hit the Middle East Harder Than Oil Shock
Why Water Crisis Could Hit the Middle East Harder Than Oil Shock
Sputnik International
The water need of the region cannot be supplied externally by tankers — both because of the scale involved and due to the Strait of Hormuz blockade, Higher School of Economy’s dean Anastasiya Likhacheva tells Sputnik.
2026-05-18T11:50+0000
2026-05-18T11:50+0000
2026-05-18T11:50+0000
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"My favorite example: if you fill a fairly large, say, a second-class oil tanker with oil, it will produce gasoline for 900,000 gasoline-powered passenger cars. But if you fill it with water, it will supply cooling water for a large aluminum plant for only four hours," she explains.Water export is also not profitable due to the fact that it requires fuel, she adds.Water issues must be taken into account under any scenario for settling the current Middle East conflict, Likhacheva concludes.The Iran war highlights the issue — the Middle Eastern nations are "exquisitely vulnerable" in this sphere, as they either already experience a water crisis — like Iran — or heavily rely on desalination plants that are located tightly and can be damaged during hostilities — like Persian Gulf nations, Scientific American writes.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20250518/global-water-crisis-russias-advantage-as-shortages-loom-1122076898.html
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Why Water Crisis Could Hit the Middle East Harder Than Oil Shock
The water need of the region cannot be supplied externally by tankers — both because of the scale involved and due to the Strait of Hormuz blockade, Higher School of Economy’s dean Anastasiya Likhacheva tells Sputnik.
"My favorite example: if you fill a fairly large, say, a second-class oil tanker with oil, it will produce gasoline for 900,000 gasoline-powered passenger cars. But if you fill it with water, it will supply cooling water for a large aluminum plant for only four hours," she explains.
Water export is also not profitable due to the fact that it requires fuel, she adds.
Water issues must be taken into account under any scenario for settling the current Middle East conflict, Likhacheva concludes.
The Iran war highlights the issue — the Middle Eastern nations are "exquisitely vulnerable" in this sphere, as they either already experience a water crisis — like Iran — or heavily rely on desalination plants that are located tightly and can be damaged during hostilities — like Persian Gulf nations, Scientific American writes.
