PARIS (EFE).— The executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Fatih Birol, is “very pessimistic” regarding the ccurrent energy crisis, which is worse than those of 1973, 1979 and 2022 combined, and fears a “black” April if the Strait of Strait does not reopen during this month. Hormuz.
In an interview published yesterday in the French newspaper Le Figaro, Birol insists that although the IEA works on different lines, such as measures to save oil and gas and could decide to put a more important part of its strategic reserves on the market, “the only, true solution” is “the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.”
“As long as it remains closed, the world economy will continue to face very great difficulties,” he adds.
Regarding the current situation, “the world has never experienced a disruption in energy supplies of such magnitude. If you look at the three major past oil and gas crises, the current crisis is more serious than those of 1973, 1979 and 2022 combined. We are facing a great energy shock that combines an oil shock, a gas shock and a food shock,” he assured.
Take for granted that “the world economy is going to suffer” and that developing countries “will be the most affected by the high prices of oil, gas, food and the acceleration of inflation.” That is why he is “very pessimistic.”
Asked about the decision made by the members of the IEA to release 400 million barrels of its strategic reserves to the market to try to stabilize the markets, he points out that it is being carried out “progressively and that it will continue” in the coming weeks.
Birol recalls that it is the largest release of reserves in the history of the organization (which was created after the 1973 crisis), which represents 20% of what the countries have and that the rest will be used “if necessary, but I hope it is not.”
War in the Middle East, damage to energy infrastructure
The director of the IEA explains that with the war in the middle east have been damaged by the attacks 75 energy infrastructures and “more than a third” They are “seriously or very seriously affected” and getting them back on track will take “a long time.”
Given these circumstances, he anticipates that “the architecture of the global energy system is going to change,” something that will take “years” but in the end “the geopolitics of energy will be profoundly transformed.”
Of this transformation, it stands out that renewables, solar and wind, which allow rapid installation, are going to progress much more rapidly, “on a scale of a few months”, a phenomenon that already occurred with the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In addition, “the life of existing nuclear plants will be prolonged; from there we will obtain additional capacities.”
And he also foresees that, as in the years 1970, the automobile industry is going to transform, with much faster development of electric cars, particularly in Asia, where demand for oil is strongest.
His recommendation for countries is, first of all, “to use energy in the most prudent way possible, saving and improving its efficiency. Then, we must continue to support the growth of renewables and develop imports from different trading partners.”
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