IEA warns Gulf energy disruption may last months

Shafaq News- Paris

Restoring oil and gas flows from the Gulf could take at least six months, the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Fatih Birol, stated on Friday, warning that the world may be facing one of the most severe energy crises in history.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Birol said some facilities may take significantly longer than six months to resume operations, adding that politicians and markets are underestimating the scale of the disruption. “Around one-fifth of global oil and gas supplies are effectively stranded in the region,” he noted.

Earlier this week, the IEA announced that governments had committed to releasing 271.7 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves to help stabilize markets.

In a statement, the agency said oil stocks from Asia and Oceania would be made available immediately, while supplies from Europe and the Americas are expected to be released by the end of March. Emergency reserves are set to begin flowing into global markets soon.

Separately, Italy’s Energy Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin said his country is seeking alternatives to replace Qatari gas supplies that have been halted since the beginning of the month due to the ongoing conflict involving Iran, Israel, and the United States.

Fratin said Italy is in talks with several countries, including the United States, Azerbaijan, and Algeria, to secure additional gas supplies following the halt of shipments from Qatar, according to Western media reports. He also stressed that Italy and the European Union have agreed that the bloc should not resume gas imports from Russia.

Qatar’s gas exports were disrupted at the start of the conflict after Iranian drone attacks targeted energy facilities in the Gulf state. Following the attacks on installations in Ras Laffan and Mesaieed, QatarEnergy announced a halt in liquefied natural gas production, prompting a sharp rise in gas prices across Europe and Asia.