The ongoing war between Iran and the United States, combined with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, poses a serious threat to the global economy. The Director of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, has warned that the situation in the Middle East is “serious” and that the global economy is facing a real risk.
Speaking in Canberra, he indicated that the IEA had already approached several governments in Europe and Asia to consider additional release of their strategic oil reserves “if necessary”. According to him, the current crisis surpasses, in its magnitude, the two major oil shocks of the 1970s combined, referring to the crises of 1973 and 1979, as well as to the disruptions in the gas market caused by the war between Russia and Ukraine since 2022.
“Detroit d’Ormuz”
For Fatih Birol, the priority remains the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial passage for global energy trade. He however clarified that no oil price threshold would automatically trigger a resort to strategic reserves, despite the current surge in prices. Earlier this month, the agency had already announced a record release of 400 million barrels of oil from emergency stocks of its member countries, in order to ease tensions in the markets.
Meanwhile, the United States has taken an exceptional measure to try to stabilize prices. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the temporary authorization to sell around 140 million barrels of Iranian oil already loaded on ships. According to Washington, this decision aims to increase global supply and limit the influence of Tehran and China on the energy market.
