Restoring war-hit oil supplies could take two years: IEA’s Birol

International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol

International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol said current oil prices do not reflect the severity of the supply crisis caused by the war in the Middle East, warning that restoring lost capacity could take up to two years.

Speaking at an event hosted by the Atlantic Council on April 12, Birol said the conflict and the near-total closure of the Strait of Hormuz had disrupted about 13 million barrels per day of global oil supplies.

He said restoring lost supplies in what he described as an unprecedented crisis could take as long as two years, particularly with more than 80 energy facilities damaged by the hostilities.

Birol added that while oil prices have risen, they remain well below levels seen after the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022, as well as the record highs of 2008, noting that the situation could shift in the near term.