Current oil and gas crisis worse than 1973, 1979, 2022 together: IEA chief

  • Vehicles refuel at a fuel station, as concerns grow over fuel supply amid the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, April 6, 2026. (Photo: Reuters)
  • Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) Fatih Birol waits for Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (not pictured) before their meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on March 25, 2026. (Photo: Reuters)
  • Prices for gasoline in Los Angeles, California U.S., April 2, 2026. (Photo: Reuters)

PARIS, April 7 (Reuters) – The current oil and ‌gas crisis triggered by the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is “more serious than the ones in 1973, ​1979 and 2022 together”, Fatih Birol, the ​head of the International Energy Agency (IEA), told ⁠Le Figaro newspaper.

“The world has never experienced ​a disruption to energy supply of such magnitude,” ​he said in an interview with the French newspaper released in its Tuesday edition.

He said the European countries, as ​well Japan, Australia and others will suffer, ​but the countries most at risk were developing nations ‌which ⁠will suffer from higher oil and gas prices, higher food prices and a general acceleration of inflation.

The IEA member countries agreed last month to release ​part of ​their strategic ⁠reserves. Some of this had already been released and the process ​continues, said Birol.

In reaction to the strikes ​by ⁠Israel and the U.S., Iran has almost entirely blocked the traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, ⁠through ​which about 20% of world ​oil and gas regularly flows, creating a surge in energy ​prices.

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T.K.B. Sen

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