The head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned that the global oil market could be pushed into the “red zone” in July or August amid a lack of new exports from the Middle East and depleting stocks at the start of peak summer fuel demand.
Fatih Birol said the solution would be the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the key Gulf waterway through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies transited before the Iran war began.
The IEA in early March had agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil from its members’ strategic reserves in an effort to counter rising prices linked to the war.
But the reserves are steadily decreasing, Birol warned, adding that the IEA is willing to coordinate new releases if necessary.
