‘Plenty of oil’ in market despite Mideast turmoil: IEA chief

BRUSSELS, (Belgium): International Energy Agency (IEA) chief Fatih Birol sought Friday to tamp down fears of a global oil crisis as conflict rages in the Middle East, saying there was “plenty of oil in the market.”

The US-Israel war on Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory attacks across the Gulf region have sent crude prices soaring — fanning fears of a fresh spike in inflation that could hit the global economy.

Addressing reporters in Brussels, Birol said “logistical disruption” from the war was “creating challenges for many countries” but that there was more than enough oil in the global market.

Asked whether the IEA was mulling the release of emergency stocks, Birol said “all options are on the table” but that “at this stage” there were no plans for “collective action”. “There is plenty of oil, we have no oil shortage,” he said. “There is a huge surplus in the market.” “We are facing a temporary disruption, a logistical disruption,” he said.

While Iran has not officially shut off the Strait of Hormuz — through which a fifth of the world’s crude supplies and a substantial amount of gas run — shipping through the critical waterway has all but dried up.

Earlier this week US President Donald Trump pledged to protect ships passing through but oil prices have remained elevated. The conflict has sent crude prices soaring by about a fifth since February 27 — the day before the attacks started.

The IEA was created to coordinate responses to major disruptions of supplies after the 1973 oil crisis.