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March 12, 2026<\/p>\n
2 min read<\/p>\n
Add Us On Google<\/span>Add SciAm<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n War in Iran triggers an unprecedented disruption in global oil<\/p>\n The conflict in the Middle East is causing the \u201clargest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market,\u201d the International Energy Agency says<\/p>\n By Claire Cameron edited by Andrea Thompson<\/span><\/p>\n Photo by Dan Kitwood\/Getty Images<\/p>\n The war in Iran has choked the world\u2019s supply of oil to a \u201ctrickle,\u201d the International Energy Agency said in a new report released Thursday. According to the organization, which tracks and helps set policy for the global energy sector, the widening conflict in the region has created an unprecedented disruption in the global oil market\u2014one which will almost certainly force energy and other fuel-dependent costs to rise.<\/p>\n Importantly, the agency said diesel and jet fuel markets are \u201cparticularly vulnerable\u201d to the war\u2019s effects on Middle East fossil fuel production.<\/p>\n The reason why Iran has such sway over fossil fuels is to do with a quirk of geology. The country sits atop of where the Arabian tectonic plate is smashing into the Eurasian plate. This continental collision gave rise to the Zagros mountains, which push down on the Arabian plate in such a way that it has created a basin in the Earth\u2019s crust that traps hydrocarbons. Hence, all that oil and gas. The region contains about 12 percent of the world\u2019s oil, according to one 2024 estimate.<\/p>\n If you’re enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.<\/p>\n Around a fifth of the world\u2019s shipments of oil and liquid natural gas pass through a narrow stretch of sea called the Strait of Hormuz, which separates the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Iran effectively controls the strait, and when the U.S. and Israel ignited the war on February 28, Tehran closed the waterway down.<\/p>\n Global oil supply is set to drop by 8 million barrels a day in March, the IEA said, while LNG and petrol-making facilities in the region have also basically ceased production. The loss of oil will be offset somewhat by the decision of the IEA\u2019s 32 member countries to release 400 million barrels of oil from their emergency reserves\u2014enough to cover a few weeks\u2019 worth of lost Strait of Hormuz shipments.<\/p>\n If you enjoyed this article, I\u2019d like to ask for your support. Scientific American<\/span> has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been a Scientific American<\/span> subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm <\/span>always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.<\/p>\n If you subscribe to Scientific American<\/span>, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.<\/p>\n In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can’t-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world’s best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.<\/p>\n There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you\u2019ll support us in that mission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" March 12, 2026 2 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm War in Iran triggers an unprecedented disruption in global oil The conflict in the Middle East is causing the \u201clargest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market,\u201d the International Energy Agency says By Claire Cameron edited by Andrea Thompson Photo by<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":46556,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[1205,1123,84,268,5423,3199,261],"class_list":{"0":"post-46555","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-disruption","9":"tag-global","10":"tag-iran","11":"tag-oil","12":"tag-triggers","13":"tag-unprecedented","14":"tag-war"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=46555"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46555\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/46556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=46555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=46555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=46555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}On supporting science journalism<\/h2>\n
It\u2019s Time to Stand Up for Science<\/h2>\n