Concerns over availability will soon replace fears about price, according to Mike Wirth.
Physical oil shortages could begin to emerge worldwide within weeks due to the Middle East war and continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Chevron CEO Mike Wirth has warned.
Attacks on energy infrastructure and a dual shipping blockade in the critical waterway – which carries about a fifth of global seaborne oil and LNG – have sharply cut deliveries and pushed prices to multi-year highs. Multiple tankers have remained stranded in Hormuz since the initial US and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February. Washington and Tehran remain at odds over the strait’s future, with reports saying the US rejected Iran’s proposal for a new governance mechanism as part of peace talks.
Although active fighting paused under a fragile ceasefire last month, tensions flared again on Monday, when American and Iranian forces exchanged fire as the US military began escorting vessels through the strait.
Speaking at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles on Monday, Wirth said economies will begin slowing, first in Asia – the most dependent on Gulf oil – and then in Europe, as supply tightens.
“We will start to see physical shortages… Demand needs to move to meet supply. Economies are going to have to slow,” he said, as cited by Reuters, noting that commercial stockpiles, shadow tanker fleets, and strategic reserves are already being drawn down to delay shortages.
He warned the impact of the Hormuz closure could be “as big as in the 1970s,” when supply shocks triggered the oil crises of 1973 and 1979, sending prices soaring and causing widespread fuel shortages across the US, Europe, and Japan.
Wirth reiterated the warning in an interview with CNBC, saying physical availability – not just price – will soon become the main concern.
“As people look at the realities of very tight supplies, it’s not just a question of price, it’s actually can we get the fuel… Over the course of the next several weeks, we’ll see those effects begin to move throughout the system,” he said, noting that some European airlines are already restricting jet fuel use and cutting flights, while several Asian countries have introduced demand-reduction measures.
Wirth said the US, as a net crude exporter, would be less affected initially, though it will feel the impact through higher prices in the long run. Even once Hormuz reopens, he warned it would take months to stabilize supply routes.
The fallout is already visible, including in the US. Budget carrier Spirit Airlines said over the weekend it was going out of business, citing surging fuel costs. The crisis has also driven shifts in energy policy. The UAE last week said it would leave OPEC and the broader OPEC+ format, citing the need for greater flexibility over domestic output.
Wirth’s warning echoes recent assessments by the International Energy Agency and the World Bank. IEA head Fatih Birol said disruptions tied to Hormuz pose “the biggest energy security threat in history,” with some 13 million barrels per day lost.
The World Bank projected energy prices to jump 24% this year, with overall commodity costs rising 16% as the shock spreads beyond oil and gas.
Image credit: Zbynek Burival
By design, of course.!
In the meantime, Marsden Point still sits as it was; no refinery updating or overhaul, no thanks to Liebour filling the pipes with cement, and Nazional refusing to rebuild the refinery to prevent the energy & petrol / diesel / jet fuel crisis that is now occurring!
VOTE FOR THE NEW ZEALAND LOYAL PARTY so that the Marsden Point Refinery can be put back into proper production, with drilling permits issued ASAP due to the on-going petroleum crisis which was orchestrated by the Zionistic narcissistic psychopathic personalities on a ‘global basis’ which the NZ Uni-Parties seem to always want to please, ie the WEF, WHO, JWO, etc.
I remember the oil shocks of the 1970s. Carless days. (People went and bought a second car.) But one thing did happen which stood out – prices for sections and houses in so called dormitory suburbs fell off the cliff and by 1975 sections were being sold for one third of the original price. People with children suddenly realised that hospitals, churches, secondary schools, sports fixtures, meetings and shows were all in the cities and that driving to and from dormitory suburbs sucked.
People suddenly realised it is these social and cultural constructs which are the infrastructure of society and they should be taken into the control of the people, not run away from. All the preppers will raise their hands in horror when I say – go live in the centre of things. Throw yourself into the hub of the boiling cauldron of humanity, the larger the city the better, and make it a better place to live.
The suburbs were always a sort of halfway house anyway, neither country nor city. and a breeding ground for bored teens.
Don’t worry, the kamikaze dolphins will fix it https://southfront.press/u-s-denies-iran-has-kamikaze-dolphins/
Can someone please then explain 2 things to me…. 1) How are all these wars still ongoing when I am sure diesel and petrol are required to move and power almost everything… sure the aircraft carriers have nuke power but there are all those planes on the decks… and 2) Why are the Greens not shouting to the stars about this regards all this so called “fossil” fuel being burnt and how it is bound to burn up our planet….Actually, I know the answers… Global Warming from fossil fuel is a lie and there is no shortage of oil…this war has been planned for decades and I promise you that the US and all these other wars will carry on with no issues with fuel…it’s only the supply that’s being stopped just like in the 70’s… there is no shortage of abiotic oil..counries have shut down pipelines and stopped drilling and shut their refineries around the planet over the last few years in preparation for this, they have known this is coming… getting ready to use it to shut THE PEOPLE DOWN AND DESTROY THE ECONOMY…that’s what you are watching and seeing…it’s why no government on this planet dare step out of line… except RUSSIA and CHINA and it’s why they want to attack them… the war will never be won… the purpose is to destroy the economies and ownership of anything by the so called Useless Eater Class… that’s what’s going on …
We can’t trust the “peak oil” executives who are salivating for any excuse to claim artificial scarcity for higher profit.
They did this to us in 1971 and here we are, intentionally expensive energy.
WEF agenda 2030 and UN COP23 want restriction on freedom of movement for “climate change” and Al Gore polar bears… this is the result. No govt will solve the problem. They want behavior change from the poors.