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Shadowing practice: What may happen as oil supplies dwindle and Strait of Hormuz remains mostly closed

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  1. As U .S.-Iran talks show, little sign of progress, commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains sharply reduced, raising concerns about global energy markets and supply chains.0:00
  2. For more on what a prolonged disruption might mean, we're joined now by Daniel Juergen, vice chairman of S &P Global and one of the world's leading energy analysts.0:10
  3. Thanks for being here.0:19
  4. Thank you.0:20
  5. You have said that markets have absorbed this shock better than many expected.0:21
  6. What's the biggest reason why?0:25
  7. Well, basically the biggest reason why is inventories.0:26
  8. Inventories in the United States, remember now the U .S.0:30
  9. is the world's largest oil producer and so we have that and the other surprise has been China, which also has built up huge inventories.0:33
  10. And I think those are the reasons that this shock has not been as extreme for the world as might have been expected on March 4th when Iran shut down0:42
  11. the Strait of Hormuz.0:51
  12. When those inventories deplete, how quickly could we see prices spike even higher?0:52
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  1. Well, right now I'd say the view is that as we get into July, if there's not some relief, is when you'll start to see the prices reverse from where0:57
  2. they are.1:04
  3. I should say it's in Asia it's an energy crisis now.1:05
  4. I mean, they're really feeling it because they were so dependent on the supplies from the Strait of Hormuz.1:09
  5. So they're having rationing shortages, they don't have fertilizer, they don't have diesel for farming.1:14
  6. In the United States we're seeing it at the gasoline pump and in Europe it's actually about jet fuel right now.1:20
  7. Well, that's right.1:26
  8. I mean, the consequences extend far beyond oil.1:27
  9. What's the most overlooked impact of this disruption?1:29
  10. What are the other knock -on effects that were not yet fully grasping?1:33
  11. I think the number one is fertilizer because the gulf was the source of one -third of the world's traded fertilizer and this is hit during planting season in many1:38
  12. parts of the world.1:46
  13. It's either driven up prices or it simply isn't there.1:47
  14. So I'd put that as number one.1:50
  15. And here in the U .S., how close are we to a 1970s style energy crisis?1:52
  16. I don't think we're that close to it because we are the world's largest producer and so forth.1:57
  17. And I think lessons have been learned that part of the problems of the energy crisis in the 1970s were self -inflicted by government policies that actually created shortages where2:03
  18. there weren't necessarily shortages.2:12
  19. Lessons learned.2:14
  20. I mean, has the fact that America is now this major energy producer, as you point out, has that fundamentally changed the country's vulnerability to global conflicts?2:15
  21. I think it's not changed it because at the end of the day it's one global oil market but it's given us insulation and it's made the United States such2:25
  22. a dominant player that we were not before.2:33
  23. So that's such a dramatic change from previous crises.2:36
  24. As we've covered on this program, a swift reopening of the straight does not necessarily mean a swift return to normal.2:39
  25. At day 100, how much longer do you estimate recovery would take if the straight reopened tomorrow?2:46
  26. Well, I think you use the right word.2:52
  27. It's not going to be a swift recovery.2:54
  28. We estimate at SSMP that it would take as much as six months to get back to 80 % of where we were before.2:56
  29. You've got to get tankers out of the gulf.3:03
  30. You've got to get new tankers in.3:05
  31. And we think a lot of extensive damage and you have to begin production again.3:07
  32. So it isn't like you do a light switch and we're back to normal.3:12
  33. What are you watching for as this progresses?3:16
  34. I'm watching what happens with inventories is I think the number one thing.3:18
  35. And obviously, what is the state of the negotiation?3:22
  36. Is there a deal or not a deal?3:24
  37. And it keeps coming into focus and then going out again.3:26
  38. And Iran is really determined, I think, not to give up control of the straight.3:29
  39. They want to turn what was an open free navigation international waterway into an Iranian canal.3:35
  40. And that's not acceptable to the air producers.3:43
  41. It's really not acceptable for the world economy.3:46
  42. You mentioned that the lessons were learned after the 1970s with failed government policy.3:49
  43. When you look at a state like California that has gas prices right now on average of $6 and up, you could argue that California's interventions have put it in3:54
  44. a worse position than other states.4:02
  45. Is that a preview of what heavy handed policy responses could look like globally?4:04
  46. I think you said it very clearly.4:11
  47. Exactly because they put such pressure on their refining system.4:14
  48. They've forced down production in the state.4:17
  49. And so what are they doing?4:20
  50. They're importing gasoline from Korea that's made out of oil from the Middle East.4:21
  51. And they've created their own form of dependence.4:26
  52. So California of all the parts of the country is the part of the country that is actually most integrated into the global oil market.4:29
  53. Daniel Jurgen.4:37
  54. Always learned so much when you're here.4:38
  55. Thanks as always.4:40
  56. Thank you.4:41
  57. Thank you.5:23

American accent training with a B2 PBS NewsHour interview on the Strait of Hormuz

This clip is real american accent training, not staged dialogue. It comes from a PBS NewsHour segment where an anchor questions Daniel Juergen, a vice chairman of S&P Global, about why oil markets have not spiked despite the Strait of Hormuz staying mostly closed. The level sits at B2, and the pace runs at 199 words per minute, faster than 61 percent of the catalogue, so a first pass will likely outrun your ear.

What makes this line worth repeating aloud is the subject matter as much as the voice. You hear an energy analyst reasoning through inventories, fertilizer supply and gasoline prices without slowing down or simplifying his phrasing, so the recording is closer to the news vocabulary you meet outside a classroom than to a graded reader.

The language in this exchange about oil markets: english listening practice for news vocabulary

Juergen answers in dense, unhesitating sentences with almost no pauses to regroup, so the interest here is in how much information an American speaker packs into a single breath group. None of the reduced forms this catalogue tracks were measured in the recording, which means every word stays audible, a rare gift for a B2 listener.

  • "Well, basically the biggest reason why is inventories.": Juergen answers the anchor's question before his sentence is even finished, stacking cause and reason together instead of pausing between them.
  • "is the world's largest oil producer": listen for the flat, even stress here, no rise in pitch. This is delivered as a settled fact, not a new claim.
  • "they don't have fertilizer": three short negatives in a row, part of a longer line about rationing and shortages, and the stress falls on the object each time, not on "don't".
  • "I don't think we're that close to it": a hedge placed before the direct answer, a useful pattern for softening disagreement in spoken English.

How to shadow this news interview clip for english speaking practice

Work the clip in short passes rather than end to end. At 199 words per minute Juergen's answers will outrun a first attempt, so slow each line down before trying to match his pace.

  • Start with line 7, "Well, basically the biggest reason why is inventories," on its own until the stress on "biggest" and "inventories" lands cleanly.
  • Move to lines 8 and 9 as one unit, the answer about U.S. and Chinese inventories, since Juergen does not pause between them and neither should you.
  • Take the line containing "they don't have fertilizer" and practise it as a checklist, one item per breath, to build the rhythm of a spoken list.
  • Finish on "I don't think we're that close to it," then say the anchor's question and Juergen's answer together in one pass, so the hedge before the claim feels like part of a real exchange, not an isolated phrase.
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