More than 40 energy facilities in nine Middle Eastern countries have been heavily or very heavily damaged in the war, which could prolong disruptions in global energy supply chains, said today the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Fatih Birol.
Damage to oil fields, refineries and pipelines means that it will take time for them to be brought back into operation, Birol said, Bloomberg reports.
According to him, the war has disrupted trade in key “lifelines” of the global economy, including petrochemical products, fertilizers, sulfur and helium, which will have serious consequences for the global economy.
Birol warned that disruptions in global supply chains could persist even after the end of the conflict.
These damages mean that it will take time for oil fields, refineries and pipelines to be restarted, Birol said at the National Press Club of Australia in Canberra.
More than three weeks of conflict in the Middle East have disrupted the entire energy supply chain, nearly closing the key Strait of Hormuz and leading to a sharp rise in prices of crude oil, natural gas and fuel, the agency states.
The effect of the current disruptions is equal to the combined impact of two major oil crises from the 1970s and the gas crisis of 2022 following Russia’s attack on Ukraine, Birol said.
“Not only oil and gas, but also some of the key ‘lifelines’ of the global economy such as petrochemicals, fertilizers, sulfur and helium, their trade has been disrupted, which will have serious consequences for the global economy,” he emphasized.
Asia is at the forefront of this crisis due to its heavy dependence on oil from the region, Birol noted.
Asked about China’s decision to limit fuel exports, he said that the whole world must jointly face the energy crisis.
“Every country first looks at its own interests, but in a situation like this, serious export restrictions without justification are not something that earns points in the international community,” he stressed.
At the beginning of March, the IEA announced the release of a record 400 million barrels from emergency reserves in order to mitigate supply disruptions and curb price increases caused by the war in the Middle East.
Last week, the Paris-based organization proposed measures to reduce demand among energy importers.
Additional oil reserves can be released if necessary if the war with Iran further disrupts global energy markets in the coming days and weeks, Birol said.
However, given the near-total halt of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the only real solution to fuel supply disruptions is the reopening of this key trade route, he concluded.
US President Donald Trump stated on Saturday that if Iran does not open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, the United States of America will destroy Iranian power plants, starting with the largest.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard stated that Iran will retaliate in the event of an attack on its power sector with attacks on Israeli power plants, as well as on power plants supplying US bases in countries of the Persian Gulf region, Tanjug reports.
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Source: Politika; Foto: Pixabay