Middle East turmoil not expected to ignite new oil crisis : top commodities - Middle East turmoil not expected to ignite new oil crisis : Ongoing civil unrest across the Middle East, the world’s largest supplier of oil, will not repeat an oil crisis similar to that experienced in the 1970s -- which erupted amid an Arab-Israel conflict back then -- David Howell, British minister of state at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, said in an exclusive interview with Today’s Zaman on Friday.
Traders are watching developments in oil prices closely amid recent uprisings in a number of Middle Eastern countries. Concerns that a dramatic increase in oil prices and fluctuation would hit world markets arose particularly following last week’s Western military intervention in the oil-rich North African country Libya. While it still remains vague as to how far the crisis could go, Howell says he does not expect serious trouble to emerge for the oil markets. “We expect the current unrest to put further pressure on oil markets, but such a development will not necessarily turn into something as serious as in the 1970s,” he explains.
Underlining that global oil production has increased compared to 40 years ago, Howell says a diversification in energy resources along with the emergence of other such prominent oil producers as Venezuela and Brazil will serve as major barriers before a possible global oil crisis.
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