The head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) in Paris, Fatih Birol, warns of a fuel shortage in Europe due to strained crude oil markets. “It could be tight in the oil markets in the summer,” Birol told SPIEGEL magazine. “When the main holiday season starts in Europe and the US, the demand for fuel will increase. There may be bottlenecks: for example with diesel, gasoline or kerosene, especially in Europe.”
European countries “not only depend on the supply of crude oil from abroad, but also on imports of oil products,” said the Turkish-born economist. “And some exporting countries like China are now imposing their first export bans. They want to protect their own consumers.”
Birol calls the current energy crisis “much bigger” than the oil shocks of the 1970s – and believes it will last longer. “It was all about oil back then,” Birol said. “Now we have an oil crisis, a gas crisis and an electricity crisis at the same time.”
To save fuel, Birol is also demanding more measures from the Federal Republic of Germany than the €9 fare for regional bus and train transport that starts this Wednesday. “Germany must now introduce a speed limit, at least during the war,” Birol said. “It wouldn’t mean a big change in people’s everyday lives. We’re in a time of war, in an energy crisis, and we’d better prepare for even tougher times. And driving a few miles an hour slower is just a small compromise, compared to the suffering of the people of Ukraine.”