HONG KONG – The fallout from the US-Israeli war with Iran and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz is being felt keenly in Asia, with authorities from New Delhi to Manila implementing emergency measures to protect consumers from growing shortages and rising oil prices.
On Friday, Nepalis lined up at gas-filling stations carrying their empty, red cooking-gas cylinders as the country’s major oil company. It said it only fills the stocks half full with LPG or liquefied petroleum gas as it tries to make the stocks last longer.
Neighboring India, the world’s second-largest LPG importer after China, has been grappling with panic-buying among its own citizens amid wild swings in international Brent crude oil prices, which were above $100 a barrel early Friday.
The concern highlights how much the region, which depends on oil from Gulf countries, has been affected by the Iran war, which the International Energy Agency said has created the “biggest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market”.
Unlike the US or Europe, which have more diverse oil sources, Asia is heavily dependent on imports passing through the Strait of Hormuz, a major shipping route through southern Iran, which carries about one-fifth of the world’s oil.
“The ability to refine different oils from different locations is complex and not easily transferable in Asia,” Robert Savage, head of market strategy and insight at Bank of New York Mellon, told NBC News on Thursday.
Singapore, Thailand, South Korea, Pakistan and Japan are among the most affected countries, according to a research note by Eurasia Group, a New York-based geopolitical risk analysis firm.
Escalating conflict in the Middle East has sparked an energy frenzy across the continent, forcing governments to ration fuel and scramble for alternative supplies.
In India, oil companies that have invoked emergency powers directing refineries to maximize LPG production say they are focused on ensuring stability of domestic supplies, including to essential services like hospitals.
The moves are precautionary and while officials say India has plenty of oil, panic-buying threatens to deplete domestic resources. “We request everyone not to unduly believe such rumors or crowded fuel stations,” Mumbai-based Bharat Petroleum X said on Saturday.
Even as India struggles to reassure its own population, it is receiving additional pressure from its South Asian neighbors.
Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives have requested supplies from New Delhi, Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said on Thursday.
Muslim-majority Bangladesh closed universities and brought forward Eid al-Fitr holidays to conserve electricity and fuel. Anxious consumers rushed to petrol stations to fill up their vehicles.
In Southeast Asia, the Philippines has introduced a four-day work week for government employees, while Vietnam has urged its citizens to work from home and limit vehicle use.
