From Newsgroup: talk.politics.misc
PARIS (AP) — Europe has “maybe six weeks or so” of remaining jet fuel supplies, the head of the International Energy Agency said Thursday in a wide-ranging interview, warning of possible flight cancellations “soon” if
oil supplies remain blocked by the Iran war.
IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol painted a sobering picture of the
global repercussions of what he called “the largest energy crisis we have
ever faced,” stemming from the pinch-off of oil, gas and other vital
supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.
“In the past there was a group called ‘Dire Straits.’ It’s a dire strait
now, and it is going to have major implications for the global economy.
And the longer it goes, the worse it will be for the economic growth and inflation around the world,” he told The Associated Press.
The impact will be “higher petrol (gasoline) prices, higher gas prices,
high electricity prices,” said Birol, speaking in his Paris office looking
out over the Eiffel Tower.
Economic pain will be felt unevenly and “the countries who will suffer the most will not be those whose voice are heard a lot. It will be mainly the developing countries. Poorer countries in Asia, in Africa and in Latin America,” said the Turkish economist and energy expert who has led the IEA since 2015.
But without a settlement of the Iran war that permanently reopens the
Strait of Hormuz, “Everybody is going to suffer,” he added.
“Some countries may be richer than the others. Some countries may have
more energy than the others, but no country, no country is immune to this crisis,” he said.
‘Slow growth or even recession’
Nearly 20% of the world’s traded oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz
in peacetime. Birol warned that not reopening the waterway within weeks
could compound the repercussions for global energy supplies.
“In Europe, we have maybe six weeks or so (of) jet fuel left,” he said.
“If we are not able to open the Strait of Hormuz ... I can tell you soon
we will hear the news that some of the flights from city A to city B might
be canceled as a result of lack of jet fuel.”
Dutch airline KLM and U.K.-based budget carrier easyJet said Thursday that they were not experiencing current fuel shortages, without commenting
further on the IEA’s warning. Meanwhile, U.S. carrier Delta Air Lines —
which frequently flies to destinations across Europe — said it was aware
of the continent’s “potential jet fuel supply issue” and monitoring the situation, although it didn’t expect immediate impacts. Still, all three airlines are among those that have already seen higher costs eat into
their budgets.
https://apnews.com/article/iran-war-europe-jet-fuel-flight-cancellations- birol-6e67fafd493861b3858de5548aa77703?__vfz=medium%3Dstandalone_top_pages
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