IEA chief says 40 energy assets ‘severely’ damaged in Mideast war

AFP: The head of the International Energy Agency said Monday that at least forty energy assets had been “severely or very severely” damaged across nine countries in the Middle East due to the war in the region.

“At least forty… energy assets in the region are severely or very severely damaged across nine countries,” Fatih Birol told the National Press Club in Australia’s capital.

The global economy is under “major threat” from the energy crisis caused by the Middle East war, Birol said, warning that “no country will be immune” to its effects.

He compared the current energy crisis to those of the 1970s and the impact of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
“This crisis as things stand is now two oil crises and one gas crash put all together,” he 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,” Birol added.

“No country will be immune to the effects of this crisis if it continues to go in this direction. So there is a need for global efforts,” he said.
US President Donald Trump and Tehran have issued tit-for-tat threats as the war entered its fourth week, with the US president demanding the Islamic republic reopen the blocked Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20% of the world’s oil and gas shipments transit.

The bottleneck has nearly halted all petroleum shipments through the narrow waterway, and oil prices have spiked.

He warned that the crisis extends beyond oil and gas, threatening the “vital arteries” of the global economy. “Trade in petrochemicals, fertilisers, sulfur, and helium has been interrupted,” he noted, adding that these disruptions would lead to “grave consequences” for the global market.