Energy Security System Faces New Test Amid U.S.-Iran Conflict

The global energy security system established after the 1973 oil embargo is facing a new test. The U.S.-Iran conflict has disrupted oil flows and challenged many of the assumptions underpinning this system.

The crisis prompted a sweeping overhaul of the global energy security framework, including the establishment of strategic petroleum reserves (SPRs) to provide emergency supplies during disruptions and the creation of the International Energy Agency (IEA) to coordinate energy policy among consuming nations.

However, the current disruption is fundamentally different from past supply shocks. Constraints on transportation and logistics have exposed the vulnerability of critical energy chokepoints such as the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of global oil flows typically pass.