IEA Reports Widespread Damage to Middle East Energy Infrastructure

(MENAFN) More than 80 energy installations across the Middle East have been damaged since the outbreak of the Iran war on Feb. 28, with over one-third of them suffering severe or very severe destruction, according to the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) on Monday.

Speaking at an Atlantic Council event in Washington, IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said the level of destruction affecting oil fields, refineries, terminals, and related infrastructure is so extensive that recovery would take considerable time even if fighting stopped immediately.

“This is one of the most critical issues, and different than the past, many of the facilities are badly damaged,” he said, adding that the agency is closely tracking all impacted sites.

Birol warned that restoring energy output in the region to pre-crisis levels could take up to two years, highlighting the depth of disruption to oil and gas systems across the Middle East.

He described the situation as “the largest energy security threat in history,” arguing that current losses in global supply already surpass previous major shocks, including the oil crises of the 1970s and the disruptions following the start of the Ukraine war in 2022.

According to his assessment, global oil supply losses have reached around 30 million barrels per day, compared with about 5 million barrels per day during each of the 1970s crises. He also said natural gas disruptions have exceeded the roughly 75 billion cubic meters lost since the Ukraine conflict began.

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