Global energy security at risk if Strait of Hormuz does not open in weeks, IEA chief says
WASHINGTON: If the US and Iran do not increase oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz soon, the world should worry about energy security, International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol said on Thursday.
“Oil security is still a critical issue,” Birol told a Council on Foreign Relations event. “We should be worried, and I am worried, if the situation does not improve in the next few weeks.”
The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman that normally carries about one-fifth of the world’s energy shipments, has been mostly blocked since the conflict began on February 28 with US and Israeli strikes on Iran.
Despite sharp energy price increases, Birol said several factors have moderated the rise. These include China’s stockpile, which totaled more than 1 billion barrels of oil before the war, its oil conservation through increased use of electric vehicles and public transport and an IEA-coordinated release of up to 400 million barrels of oil.
