The International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned that the world is facing a worse energy crisis than the twin oil shocks of the 1970s and the fallout of the Ukraine war combined. Executive Director, IEA, Fatih Birol, spoke during a media event at the National Press Club of Australia in Canberra.

He explained that the energy crunch prompted by the US-Israel war on Iran exceeded the 1973 and 1979 oil shocks and gas shortages stemming from Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine put together.

He said: “This crisis, as things stand, is now two oil crisis and one gas crash put all together.” Birol decried that the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz and attacks on energy facilities in some Middle East countries had reduced global oil supplies by about 11 million barrels per day (bpd), more than double the combined shortfalls of the 1970s’ crises.

He noted that st least 40 energy facilities across nine countries had also been severely damaged in the conflict. He added thar liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies had been reduced by about 140 billion cubic metres, compared with a shortfall of 75bcm in the aftermath of Ukraine’s invasion by Russia.

Birol said: “The global economy is facing a major, major threat today, and I very much hope that this issue will be resolved as soon as possible.” The IEA chief also the agency will release additional volumes of crude from storage should the need arise. According to him, the additional release will not be triggered by any particular oil price level. “If it is necessary, of course, we will do it.

We look at the conditions, we will analyse, assess the markets and discuss with our member countries,” he said. Recall that the agency earlier this month announced that it would release 400 million barrels of crude from OECD reserves to cushion the blow to oil markets caused by the disruption of tanker traffic in the Middle East.