Bangladesh, April 13 -- In October 1973, amid the geopolitical shock of the Arab oil embargo, King Faisal made a decision that would reshape the global energy order: halting Saudi oil exports to the United States. The move sent tremors through Western economies and forced policymakers in Washington to confront a new reality-energy security was no longer guaranteed. At the time, US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger reportedly considered seizing Saudi oil fields as a drastic countermeasure. That option was ultimately rejected. Instead, what emerged was a durable strategic bargain: Gulf States would supply stable energy flows, and the United States would provide military protection.

For five decades, this implicit “oil-for-security&#...