The Globe and Mail reports in its Monday, March 16, edition that the Strait of Hormuz is a crucial and vulnerable passage for global energy. A New York Times dispatch to The Globe reports that this risk has become more evident during the ongoing Middle East conflict, with recent tensions causing oil prices to hit a four-year high of $100 (U.S.). The lack of a true alternative is due to geography, political tensions and economic competition among oil powers in the region. Efforts to bypass the strait, particularly by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, have not been effective, as their pipelines can only transport a small fraction of the Persian Gulf's energy output. For many energy-producing countries in the region, the only way to avoid the strait is to lay a costly and politically sensitive pipeline across a neighbouring country. Former BP chief John Browne says: "There's nothing which is totally secure here. In the end, someone with bad intention can do all sorts of things to oil and gas infrastructure." Some oil analysts also assumed that, if the time came, the United States, which has a keen interest in keeping energy markets stable, would use its military might to keep the strait passable.