* Sechin: Strait of Hormuz closure has benefitted U.S. oil

producers

* Sechin warns of other route disruptions

* Sechin: UAE departure has undermined some of the OPEC+

potential

By Vladimir Soldatkin and Olesya Astakhova

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, June 6 (Reuters) - Rosneft

Chief Executive Igor Sechin said on Saturday that U.S. energy

companies were the main beneficiaries of the closure of the

Strait of Hormuz and that Washington was trying to change

the fundamental contours of the global energy markets to suit

U.S. interests.

Iran blockaded the Strait, the main route for about a fifth

of world oil supplies and other vital goods including

fertilisers, after the United States and Israel attacked Iran

and killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in February.

The U.S. has blockaded Iranian ports.

The closues of the Strait has rattled global markets,

sending oil prices to multi-year highs, stoking global inflation

and undermining economic growth world-wide.

Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum,

Sechin, a long-standing ally of President Vladimir Putin, also

said that the OPEC+ group of leading oil producers has lost some

of its potential with the withdrawal of the United Arab Emirates

from the alliance.

"The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is an attempt to

reshape global energy market regulations to benefit the United

States. The measures taken to block the strait were aimed at

Iran, but backfired on the entire world. The strategic risks

were underestimated," Sechin said.

"The main beneficiaries, of course, were American companies,

who gained non-competitive advantages and the ability to secure

high-cost supplies," he added.

He warned that following Strait of Hormuz closure, other

major global routes, such as Malacca, Bad El Mandeb and

Gibraltar straits could also be under the risk of disruption.

SECHIN SAYS OPEC+ IS LOSING ITS MOJO

Sechin, who is known for his skepticism about Russia's

cooperation with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting

Countries, said the OPEC+ group has lost some its potential

following the UAE departure from the alliance as well as

earlier exits of Qatar and other countries.

"As a result, the alliance's production has fallen from 58

to 37 million barrels per day over the past ten years," he said.

Sechin also said that most major OPEC+ members have

increased production since the agreement was signed in 2016. In

Russia, oil production fell by 1.5 million barrels per day.

"This is a 15% decline that will need to be offset by

necessary investments of at least ten trillion rubles. We expect

that investment cooperation between the alliance's member

countries and our country will also expand," Sechin said.

(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin and Olesya Astakhova; editing

by Guy Faulconbridge )