INTERNATIONAL Energy Agency (IEA) chief Fatih Birol sought Friday to tamp down fears of a global oil crisis as conflict rages in the Middle East, saying there was “plenty of oil in the market”.
The US-Israel war on Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory attacks across the Gulf region have sent crude prices soaring — fanning fears of a fresh spike in inflation that could hit the global economy. Addressing reporters in Brussels, Birol said “logistical disruption” from the war was “creating challenges for many countries” but stressed there was more than enough oil in the global market.
Asked whether the IEA was mulling the release of emergency stocks, Birol said “all options are on the table” but that “at this stage” there were no plans for “collective action”. “There is plenty of oil, we have no oil shortage,” he said, after a meeting with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and EU commissioners. “There is a huge surplus in the market.” “We are facing a temporary disruption, a logistical disruption,” he said.
While Iran has not officially shut off the Strait of Hormuz — through which a fifth of the world’s crude supplies and a substantial amount of gas run — shipping through the critical waterway has all but dried up.
AFP
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