Khaberni - The International Energy Agency said that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has resulted in the largest disruption seen in global oil markets in history, with expectations that the supply will decrease by about eight million barrels a day in March, which is approximately 8%.
The member countries of the Agency agreed to its proposal to withdraw a record 400 million barrels from strategic stocks to stabilize oil prices and compensate for the loss of Middle East production.
Below is a list of some previous disruptions in oil supplies:
*The Arab Oil Embargo from 1973-1974
The October War of 1973, initiated when Egypt and Syria launched coordinated attacks on Israel, sparked the Arab oil embargo.
The Arab producers, through the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), ordered an immediate 5% cut in production, followed by additional monthly cuts of 5%.
This action was taken to pressure Western countries to compel Israel to withdraw from the Arab territories it had occupied since the 1967 war.
Declassified documents prepared by the National Security Council for President Richard Nixon estimated that the embargo would lead to a shortfall in US supplies of two or three million barrels per day, with the total shortfall in the embargoed countries reaching about 4.5 million barrels per day.
US government records showed that OAPEC announced the embargo on October 17, 1973, and it remained in place against the United States until March 1974.
Crude oil prices rose to nearly four times as a result, from about $2.90 per barrel before the embargo to $11.65 by January 1974.
The US government prepared plans for fuel rationing, ordered industries to switch from oil to coal, pushed for increased domestic production, and rushed to enact emergency energy legislation.
The crisis prompted oil-consuming countries to establish the International Energy Agency in 1974 to coordinate responses to supply disruptions.
The Iranian Revolution from 1978-1979
Political unrest in Iran led to the collapse of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's government and the rise of Ali Khamenei. Iranian oil production fell sharply by 4.8 million barrels a day, approximately 7% of global supplies, by January 1979.
Oil prices began to rise rapidly in mid-1979 and more than doubled between April 1979 and the same month the following year, driven by fears of further disruptions, speculation and strong global demand.
The crisis contributed to rising inflation in the United States. In August 1979, Paul Volcker was appointed as the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, and the bank adopted a strict monetary tightening policy to curb inflation.
These policies broke the cycle of stagflation but, alongside the oil shock, drove the US economy into a severe recession.
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005
Hurricane Katrina struck the American Gulf coast in August 2005, resulting in the shutdown of large amounts of offshore production.
US government data showed that at the peak of the disruption on August 29, 2005, production of about 1.38 million barrels a day of oil was halted. Losses led to a gradual decline in production, but it was still around 840,000 barrels a day by September 16, 2005.
This was followed by Hurricane Rita in September, as the disruptions caused by the two hurricanes combined resulted in a production halt of up to 1.53 million barrels a day at the peak of the disturbances on September 26, 2005.
The US Department of Energy loaned 9.1 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to refineries. The United States participated in a coordinated drawdown of 30 million barrels of stock in cooperation with the International Energy Agency.
Regulatory bodies issued emergency exemptions allowing the use of winter gasoline and high-sulfur diesel fuel, and temporarily suspended the Jones Act to allow foreign ships to transport fuel between US ports to alleviate supply bottlenecks
The War on Ukraine 2022
The comprehensive Russian attack on Ukraine in 2022 led to a global energy crisis, prompting European countries to reduce their reliance on Russian oil and gas.
Prices jumped more than 50% within a few weeks, and crude oil prices reached their highest levels since 2008 due to the search for alternative supplies.
In March 2022, then-US President Joe Biden ordered the withdrawal of 180 million barrels over six months to combat the sharp rise in prices.
The United States and other Western countries imposed a price cap on Russian oil exports, aiming to limit Russia's funding of the war without withdrawing its oil from the market.
