OPEC Secretary General Haysam Al Ghais
This was stated by the Secretary General of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Haitham al-Ghais, he was quoted by “Interfax”.
Against the background of the war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the growth rate of global demand for raw materials has significantly slowed down, he said. The crisis in the Middle East has also hit the global oil supply.
The balance will be found only as energy supplies from the war-torn region are restored. There are no prerequisites for this in the short term, Al-Ghais explained. The global supply of crude will not be restored until next year at the earliest, concluded the secretary general of the industry organization.
Experts call the conclusion of a peace deal between Iran and the United States the main condition for easing the global energy crisis. Currently, there are a number of fundamental disagreements between the parties to the war over the terms of a ceasefire in the Middle East. Washington, in particular, insists on the destruction of enriched uranium reserves in Iran, while the leadership of the Middle Eastern country insists on unfreezing $24 billion of frozen assets.
If the parties do not reach any compromise in the foreseeable future, the global energy market may face a new phase of crisis, warned Paul Diggle, chief economist of the Aberdeen management company. Taking into account the increased demand for fuel at the height of the summer vacation season, he explained, the load on the already disrupted supplies of raw materials from the Middle East will increase significantly.
The turning point for global oil prices may come in August, warned Philip Khoury, executive vice president of the trading division of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC). If the war in Iran continues by then, commodity prices will rush upward. In this case, Diggle did not rule out the rise in the price of Brent to $180 per barrel. This would hit both global oil demand and supply hard.
If such a scenario materializes, the growth rate of the global economy will slow down significantly, the International Monetary Fund summarized.
