Birol: Energy Crisis Tops 1973, 1979, 2022 Combined
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- Fatih Birol, IEA executive director, told French newspaper Le Figaro the current energy crisis is worse than 1973, 1979, and 2022 taken together, calling it an "unprecedented supply shock"
- The Strait of Hormuz blockage has crashed flows of roughly 20 million barrels per day of crude and products "to a trickle," per the IEA's March monthly report
- Gulf countries have cut total oil production by more than 11 million bpd, with the IEA warning that supply losses will increase without a rapid resumption of shipping
- The IEA launched the biggest-ever coordinated release of oil stocks last month — 400 million barrels — its largest emergency release since the agency was created during the 1970s Arab oil embargo
- Developing economies face greater risks from sky-high energy and food prices than developed economies, which will grapple with higher inflation and supply disruptions, according to Birol
- The IEA has signaled it could resort to another stock release, though the current 400-million-barrel release is still being processed with actual supply just now hitting the market
Why it matters: The IEA has launched its largest-ever emergency oil stock release — 400 million barrels — to counter a supply shock its chief calls worse than the 1973, 1979, and 2022 crises combined. With Gulf production already cut by more than 11 million bpd and Hormuz flows down to a trickle, developing economies face the steepest exposure to energy and food price spikes.
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