Global energy security at risk if Strait of Hormuz does not open in weeks, IEA chief says

Despite sharp energy price increases, Birol said several factors have moderated the rise. These include China's stockpile, which totaled more than 1 billion barrels of oil before the war, its oil conservation through increased use of electric vehicles and public transport, and an IEA-coordinated release of up to 400 million barrels of oil.

But those fixes “can't last forever,” said Birol, who has said the Iran war is the worst energy disruption in history.

Birol said a boost in production by the United States, the world's top oil and gas producer, has helped. “The U.S. increase in production is very good ... The U.S. increased 1 million, 2 million but it cannot increase 10 million,” barrels per day of crude oil output, he said.

The oil and gas supply crisis has hurt economies around the world, but in an asymmetric way, he said.

“It is mainly Asia, because Asia was getting 80 to 90% of this energy from the Strait of Hormuz,” he said. Japan and South Korea have suffered, but developing countries including Pakistan, Bangladesh and India have been hit hardest, he said.