Commercial supplies of jet fuel may worsen this summer despite the improving situation in the Strait of Hormuz, EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen said Friday.
Since June 15, traffic has been steadily increasing through the strait, which normally sees around a fifth of the world’s oil and gas exports.
It has also increased since Iran and the US signed a preliminary deal last week to end the conflict, the UN’s International Maritime Organization launching a plan to help ships and their sailors stranded by the conflict exit the Gulf.
Jorgensen said that even with the pick up in maritime traffic through the strait it would take time for energy markets to recover.
“It will still take some months to get back to normal for oil and some years to get back to normal on gas because of the destruction of infrastructure in the region,” he said.
The halt in exports of crude and oil products exports from the Gulf quickly caused shortages of jet fuel in Asia and there have been concerns about supplies in Europe during the peak summer travel season.
Jorgensen said that in “the short term, there will most likely be a more serious situation with regards to the commercial stocks when we reach the end of the summer.”
He said EU nations may need to release jet fuel supplies to avoid shortages and that the officials would monitor the situation.
