NEW DELHI: Countries in Asia are scrambling to conserve energy and protect consumers as the war on Iran and attacks on gas fields and oil refineries disrupt critical supplies, rattling markets and driving up prices.
The crisis is hitting Asia hardest because of its heavy reliance on imported energy, much of which is shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, a key choke point now under strain. Only about 90 vessels, mostly Indian, Pakistani and Chinese-flagged, have made it through the strait since the beginning of Israeli and US attacks on Iran, and Iran’s strikes against Israel and Gulf Arab neighbors, on Feb. 28.
“The countries that are exposed to that supply disruption are not so much in Europe, or in the Americas, they’re actually really in the Asia region,” said Michael Williamson of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.
Asia should prepare for “cascading impacts into all economic activities,” according to Ramnath Iyer of the US-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.
To offset the energy crunch, Pakistan ordered schools to shut for two weeks and cut free fuel allocations for government vehicles by 50 percent for two months.
