The leaders of two major Middle Eastern oil producers have warned that the rest of the world will need to share the costs arising from the Iran conflict, along with the infrastructure spending it has triggered.

The conflict has caused widespread damage to pipelines, refineries, gas facilities, and dozens of tankers, with new investment needs already reaching tens of billions of dollars.

Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser and Kuwait Petroleum Corporation head Sheikh Nawaf Al-Saba said on Monday at the Energy Intelligence Forum that both companies are seeking to expand export routes and overseas storage capacity.

The head of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation said that if European countries want to continue receiving products such as diesel and jet fuel produced by Kuwait, they will need to invest in the relevant storage infrastructure.

Nasser said: "No country should bear these costs alone. Oil and gas infrastructure is not a cost to be minimized or avoided, but a necessary input shared by producing and consuming countries."

Sheikh Nawaf said Europe's need for fuel storage facilities is especially urgent. Before the conflict broke out, Kuwait had already become an important supplier of refined products to Europe; since then, Europe has fallen into an energy crisis, with diesel supply particularly tight.

He said Kuwait is currently discussing investment plans with European partners so that more refined products can be stored closer to consumer markets. He said: "We hope to be able to supply you with distillates, and you also need to have the relevant logistics investment ready, so that we can carry out storage."

Nasser said that even if the crisis ended now, global demand could still need an additional about 2 million barrels per day for up to two years, simply to replenish inventories that have already declined.