IEA highlights energy divergence as milestone 50th nears
Energy body punches above its weight as it provides direction amid crossroads
The IEA will celebrate its 50th birthday in late 2024. The agency was born out of the energy crisis caused by the October 1973 Yom Kippur War, which led leading oil producers to suspend sales to major consumers. This, plus price increases announced by Opec, ushered in a period of stagflation and economic turmoil. In 1972, the price of Dubai crude (Brent had not been invented back then) averaged $1.90/bl. In 1974, it averaged $10.41/bl. In the ten years before the Yom Kippur War, global inflation averaged 3.6pc/yr; in the ten years afterwards—which included another major price spike in the aftermath of the Iranian Revolution and the Iran-Iraq war—it averaged 11.6pc. Industrialised countries,

Also in this section
7 February 2025
The history of tin production and prices offers a preview of the future oil market. If correct, $35/bl could become the new normal for crude for several years without further OPEC+ intervention
7 February 2025
Changing oil demand patterns mean different downstream economics amid switch to naphtha, LPG and other petrochemicals
6 February 2025
Policy initiatives will take time to reverse declining output, and restoring investor confidence is far from certain
6 February 2025
This premier event is poised to address the evolving technology and investment demands of North America’s thriving chemical and pharmaceutical sectors