Breaking:Current Middle East oil crisis ‘more serious than 1973, 1979 and 2022’ combines, says global energy chief
Fatih Birl, the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA), has today warned that the current oil and gas crisis triggered by the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is “more serious than the ones in 1973, 1979 and 2022 together.’
In an interview with Le Figaro, he warned: ‘The world has never experienced a disruption to energy supply of such magnitude.’
He said that while developed countries would suffer, the nations most at risk were developing nations which will suffer from higher oil and gas prices, higher food prices and a general acceleration of inflation.
Last month, the IEA’s member nations agreed to release much of their strategic energy reserves, a process that is still ongoing.
In reaction to the strikes by Israel and the U.S., Iran has almost entirely blocked the traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of world oil and gas regularly flows, creating a surge in energy prices.
