By Ochiaka Ugwu
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned of a serious energy crisis that threatens the global economy.
The IEA director, Faith Birol, speaking at the National Press Club in Australia Monday, compared the burgeoning energy crisis caused by the war in the Middle East to that of the 1970s.
The global economy, he said, is facing a “major, major threat.”
CNN reported Mr. Birol saying it was worse than the two consecutive oil crises in 1973 and 1979, in which the world lost about 10 million barrels of oil per day.
It would be recalled that energy became the target of the war last week after Israel struck South Pars and Iran, in a reprisal attack fired at Qatar’s major LNG industry, Ras Laffan.
Oil and gas prices, which have been fluctuating since Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, shot higher.
This disruption of oil supply is on the heels of the gas market crash triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
But Mr. Birol said oil and gas are not the only products affected, noting that petrochemicals, such as and helium, are also affected.
“Their trade is all interrupted, which would have serious consequences for the global economy,” Mr. Birol said.
Asia, he said, is significantly affected by this crisis.
Iran says it will attack Israel’s power plants and plants supplying to US bases in the Gulf if President Donald Trump has the US military attack its energy infrastructure.
This was made in response to Mr. Trump’s threat to “obliterate” Iran’s energy infrastructure should it fail to open the Strait of Hormuz in “48 hours.”
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