the words weren't mine

The halt to oil and gas shipments through the strait is the nightmare scenario for the global energy system and represents one of the most serious disruptions to energy supply ever suffered. Spare capacity elsewhere in the world is insufficient to plug the gap in supply from the Middle East. Until shipping restarts, refineries worldwide do not have enough crude and will need to run down their inventories to keep producing and supplying fuel to transport and industry. The International Energy Agency is planning to recommend the release of 400 million barrels of oil, the largest such move in IEA history, to help absorb the shock. read more

IMAGE: René Magritte