The head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol told the AP news agency that Europe has only about six weeks of jet fuel remaining.
He also warned about likely flight cancellations if the Iran war continues to block oil supplies. IEA Executive Director described the situation as the “largest energy crisis” ever, sparked by the loss of oil, gas and other vital supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.
“In the past there was a group called ‘Dire Straits.’ It’s a dire strait now, and it is going to have major implications for the global economy. And the longer it goes, the worse it will be for the economic growth and inflation around the world” said Fatih Birol. He also emphasised that while the economic pain caused by higher energy prices will be global, poorer nations in Asia, Africa and Latin America will suffer the most.
Since the conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran began on 28 February, trade flows through the Strait of Hormuz have been severely restricted, triggering what the IEA describes as the largest oil supply disruption in history. To mitigate these impacts, the IEA has coordinated its largest-ever release of emergency oil stocks to help stabilise the global market. The agency also published a comprehensive menu of effective demand-side actions for governments and households to help shield consumers from extreme price pressures.