How IEA Chief Economist sees post-Middle East conflict energy landscape

"에너지 시장 정상화까지 수개월" IEA 수석 이코노미스트의 경고

The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz may have been announced, but the effects of the conflict between the U.S and Iran on global energy markets are far from over.
Our Park Kun-woo, spoke with a senior official at the International Energy Agency about the road ahead.. and its implications for South Korea.

The normalization of global energy markets could still take "many months."
That's according to Tim Gould, Chief Energy Economist at the International Energy Agency, speaking following the declaration of an end to hostilities between the U.S. and Iran.

"If you just look at the sailing times from the Middle East to markets around the world, I mean to get to Korea takes the best part of three or four weeks. In our view it will take many, many months to get back to somewhere close to where we were prior to the conflict."

Gould also warned that energy markets may never fully return to their pre-conflict state.

"In some ways, we may never get back to the situation that we had in February because there is also the question of confidence in the StraitAnd that confidence is now quite fragile. So people will have in their minds that the Strait has been closed once, will perhaps, it will close again."

That comes as fuel-importing countries are likely to reassess their energy security strategies, following months of disruptions to global oil and gas flows.

"South Korea relies heavily on energy imports. So what lessons do you think South Korea can learn from the recent crisis?"

"First golden rule of energy security and that is diversification.Diversification of routes, diversification of suppliers, diversification of the energy mix because wherever we see high levels of concentration in the energy system that comes with some risks."

Gould said the crisis could accelerate investment in renewable and nuclear energy, while also speeding up the shift toward what he calls the "age of electricity."

"If you are, you know, using electricity, domestically produced electricity, that displaces then your need for oil imports.Korea is very well placed in some of those areas because it does have, you know, a very well developed ecosystem for, for example, battery production for all sorts of areas of technology development."

The IEA economist also highlighted Korea's role as a key partner in future energy security discussions.

"As we move on from this crisis, there will be a lot of discussions about how countries can safeguard their energy security interests in this new environment that we are in.We are looking to Korea as a leader in some of those initiatives."

He added that the Middle East conflict could reshape how countries view energy security and energy transitions, saying the world is entering a new era of energy discussions.

Park Kun-woo, Arirang News, Paris.

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2026-06-16, 10:00 (KST)

Видео How IEA Chief Economist sees post-Middle East conflict energy landscape канала Arirang News