The worsening situation around the Strait of Hormuz is increasing concerns about the security of oil supplies. This was stated by the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Fatih Birol.

At the same time, he noted that the market “continues to benefit from a number of mitigating factors.”

Among them are the continued supplies from Persian Gulf countries (including Saudi Arabia and the UAE) to global markets via alternative routes bypassing the Strait of Hormuz, as well as increased exports by producers outside the Middle East to partially offset the shortfall.

Nevertheless, Birol added in his statement, “the full and unconditional opening of the Strait of Hormuz will be crucial to preventing further deterioration in the area of global energy security.”

“Amid escalating military action and the ongoing reduction of available commercial inventories, there is no room for complacency on oil security. Refining and petroleum products output are not recovering as quickly as crude oil supplies. This means that the situation in refined products markets, including diesel fuel and gasoline, is considerably tighter than in the crude market,” the IEA chief emphasized.