People queue at a filling station in Hyderabad, India, following the disruption in Middle Eastern oil supplies
Asia’s patchy oil storage
The Iran crisis is exposing the gaping holes in the region’s stockpiles and asking questions of its longer-term energy strategy
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz in March has exposed a significant weakness in Asia’s energy system: although it is the world’s largest oil-importing region, its strategic petroleum reserves are inconsistent and, in some cases, insufficient for a prolonged supply disruption. When the last oil shock impacted the global economy in 1979, Japan was the only major Asian country economically, with a GDP more than five times that of the others. It began stockpiling oil in 1978 following the 1973 oil crisis, at a time when its consumption was estimated at more than 5m b/d. China was still a net exporter of oil, with demand of 1.7m b/d, according to Oxford Energy, while Indian consumption was bel
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