Against the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East and the virtual stoppage of maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, the International Energy Agency (IEA) issued ten recommendations on Friday 20 March to guard against what it described as “the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market”.
Before the US-Israeli attack on 28 February, some 15 million barrels of crude oil and 5 million barrels of petroleum products passed through the Straits every day, accounting for around 20% of the world's oil consumption.
Following the release on the market of 400 million barrels of oil from the emergency reserves of the Agency’s member countries (see EUROPE 13826/1), the Agency is calling for “demand-side” action.
With regard to fuel consumption for road transport, the IEA quite simply suggests working from home where possible, lowering motorway speed limits by at least 10 km/h or encouraging public transport.
For air transport fuels, cooking fuels and industry, the IEA advises avoiding air travel, estimating that a reduction of around 40% in business flights can be envisaged in the short term. It also calls for electric cooking and other alternative modern cooking solutions to be used, and for priority to be given to processing petroleum-based raw materials that are available in greater quantities.
In addition, the IEA noted that governments could intervene by taking measures to help consumers cope with energy price rises, as was the case in 2022, but also that budgetary resources were limited and that it was essential for measures to target the most vulnerable.
Read the recommendations: https://aeur.eu/f/la5 (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)