It may not be war reporting, but seeing journalists limping away from some of the famed “scrums” that occur every time an oil minister walks through a hotel lobby during a meeting of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, suggests a war of sorts.

In the battle to be first with a headline, even if only by a matter of seconds, journalists prowl hotels where ministers stay and meetings are held, phones stuck to their ears, making sure every entrance and meeting room door is covered