Europe could run out of jet fuel in 6 weeks, IEA chief tells AP

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: CNBC

Published Thu, Apr 16 2026 7:22 AM EDT Updated 5 Min Ago


The International Energy Agency’s head warned Thursday that Europe maybe has six weeks left of jet fuel as the airline industry continues to grapple with headwinds due to the Middle East crisis.

IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said the Strait of Hormuz blockade will result in “the largest energy crisis we have ever faced,” in an interview with the Associated Press on Thursday.

“In the past there was a group called ‘Dire Straits.’ It’s a dire strait now, and it is going to have major implications for the global economy. And the longer it goes, the worse it will be for the economic growth and inflation around the world,” he said.

He added that the broader economic impact includes “higher petrol (gasoline) prices, higher gas prices, high electricity prices,” with some parts of the world “hit worse than the others.”

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/16/europe-jet-fuel-shortage-6-weeks-iea.html

[littlemissmartypants]

1. Meanwhile, DJ is thoroughly loving the chaos he's creating.

Characteristics of Psychopaths

1. Aggressive, callous, and cunning
2. Complete absence of conscience and empathy
3. Very adept at manipulating others
4. Willingness to engage in immoral, criminal conduct
5. Willingness to take what they want and do as they please, regardless of who is hurt or wronged
6. Deceptive ability to appear outwardly benevolent
7. Deceptive ability to behave in superficially charming ways to hide purely selfish motives
8. Willingness to use intimidation and violence to control others in order to satisfy their own needs
9. Willingness to intentionally violate the basic inherent human rights of others
10. Complete absence of any sense of guilt or remorse for the harm their actions have caused to others
11. Rationalization of their own immoral behavior
12. Will attempt to lay blame upon someone else for their own conduct
13. Denial, will deny their own wrongdoing outright
14. Utter contemptuousness toward the feelings and desires of their fellow beings
15. Pathological lying, will say anything without any concern for truth to advance their own hidden agendas
16. Ablity to feign [fake] normal human emotions and empathy
17. Distorted sense of the consequences of their actions
18. Total failure to accept any responsibility for their own socially irresponsible ways
19. Strong bellef that they will never be brought to justice for their criminal behavior

[Justice matters.]

20. Krasnov wants them forced to go buy Russian oil.

It's as clear as that.

How does "Mission Accomplish" look like in Russian?

[boonecreek]

2. It's already starting.

Norse Atlantic Airways cancels flights out of LAX citing high fuel costs.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/norse-atlantic-airways-cancels-flights-out-of-lax-citing-high-fuel-costs/ar-AA20Z7df

[EuterpeThelo]

4. Damn it!

I have flown that Norse route from LAX to London and for a budget airline, their Premium cabin is really not bad at all. Have also flown them from London back to JFK.

Really worried about JetBlue at this point too - my favorite domestic carrier, especially now that Southwest has gone and wrecked itself by eliminating anything that set them apart.

This is seriously disappointing.

[Tiny Tabby]

3. Impact on World Cup???

Expecting millions of visitors, maybe not?

[Attilatheblond]

17. Well, it will give Trump an excuse for people not showing up because Trump is an insane ass.

[ChicagoTeamster]

5. So where do they get their oil? Isn't their petroleum supply chain diversified? Aren't the UK and Norway oil producers?

Can't they buy American in the meantime? The US has over 9000 drilled but uncompleted wells in seven key oil and natural gas production regions in the United States. There are probably even more in the Gulf of Mexico. Can't we pick up production to keep them from running out for the next few months?

[BumRushDaShow]

6. You still need refineries for that oil

And different refineries can only handle certain grades of crude.

IOW, you're not pumping crude from out of the ground to fill a jet.

We are already the biggest crude producer in the world (thanks to fracking).

[ChicagoTeamster]

8. I know, but the nations buying the oil have their own refineries and can do necessary tweaking to handle different crude

It will take time and be expensive but can save them in the meantime. The US has not increased storage or refining capacity since the 70s energy crisis due to the expectation that the demand would drop as cars became more efficient and the US added more rail and public transport.

We honestly don't need to import oil, we do it because the labor and other production costs of producing in other ME countries is cheaper and because we want everyone else to run out before we do.

[BumRushDaShow]

9. "can do necessary tweaking to handle different crude"

It's definitely not that simple because (as a former chemist myself), you have to imagine an apparatus like this -



Scaled up to something like this -





(something that the chem engineers do )

Each tower (or sets of towers) is designed to collect different fractions of substances based on their boiling point. Like making yourself some hooch with a still!

[ChicagoTeamster]

10. I have a physics degree but took a year of organic chemistry and yes I know the apparatus are complex

But how else are they supposed to get their fuel? Crude has to be refined. And they have the means of adjusting the process.

The problem is as you stated it's complex but also very costly so is it worth it for them to make those changes if the Hormuz winds up being opened 3 months from now and then they may have to re-calibrate again? That's the reason for the whole uncertainty. If they completely lost a supply or a market, an oil company would have to consider this. But, if it's all an unnecessary disruption over an extortion grift that corrects months later.... And while they wait they burn through stored fuel supplies.

[Miguelito Loveless]

14. The oil industry likes it this way

it keeps prices up, profits high, and the world remains addicted to oil. Most refineries in the US are designed for oil produced in Canada and South America, and we export our lighter grade oil to Asia which has the refineries to handle it.

Oil companies refuse to build new refineries in the US because no one wants one in their town and they don't want to spend hundreds of billions of dollars just to see the market change by the time the refineries come online. There is a vast amount of economic and supply chain inertia keeping things as they are.

The long term solution is green energy, but that is another battleground Big Oil is fighting tooth and claw.

[BumRushDaShow]

15. Remember that many around the world

have been trying to convert AWAY FROM "fossil fuels" so these companies have been looking into the future and whether the expenditures (including uncapping wells, building more oil platforms to drill, and creating more refineries) would have any good ROI when it comes time to bringing that all online, when millions of "cheap" Chinese EVs are starting to proliferate.

That is why the U.S. oil companies have been "meh" about all those leases that 45 snatched from various places and handed to them.

Meanwhile, nuclear has suddenly been resurrecting - NJ just declared the moratorium on new nuke plants there, dead - Gov. Sherrill signs bill to end de facto moratorium on new nuclear plants

Add all the wind and solar and the energy industry is going through disruptions in the flux (physics term - had to take 3 semesters of it )

You do have airlines that have their own refineries for jet fuel. For example, about 15 years ago, Delta Airlines bought a ConocoPhillips refinery just outside of Philly for jet fuel -



So perhaps other airlines may need to consider that since they are the biggest users of a critical fraction of crude being refined. And since there really aren't any commercial "EV" airplanes, that transportation sector is going to continue to need a crude refinery for fuel as long as their tech is predominately designed to use it.

[Miguelito Loveless]

12. You can't "tweek" a refinery

for different types of oil. You have to build facilities for that type of oil. Billions of dollars and 3-5 years to build.

[Callie1979]

19. It takes a lot more than a "tweak" to refine different weights of oil

Thats why the US still imports oil while also exporting it. And why trump wanted VZ oil; most of our refineries are built to refine that heavy oil they pump. Much of ours isnt the same type.
Good luck getting new refineries built, although a new one did recently open.

[ChicagoTeamster]

21. I was just using tweak as a term, I was implying that if they had to they could reengineer,

yes it would cost a lot and take a lot longer than 6 weeks or maybe building completely new ones but what else are they going to do?

They could just not honor the blockade. Trump let Chinese tankers through. Only the EU and NATO are pursuing Russian shadow fleet tankers. Trump's not. Tell Trump and Netanyahu to go screw themselves. IS the USN really going to sink ships from our (former) allies and trade partners but let China through? US Banks and Financial firms might have a huge issue with both starving them of fuel and sinking their ships.

And, if his blockade screws with the EU or Canada or other nation's economies any more, they're really going to start boycotting US products and businesses even more. They can create a trade blockade. They're already practically half way there.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

7. Leave it to Donnie Dipshit to FUCK it up for the rest of the world.

World economies are being affected big time by this war.

Soon, NOBODY will be traveling anywhere.

[Initech]

13. Everything Trump touches!

He has failed us on every level. He needs to be fired immediately.

[durablend]

22. I think it's deliberate

"I'M GOD AND WORLD LEADER. YOU'LL DO EVERYTHING I WANT OR THE WORLD WILL BURNNNNNNN!!!"

[PSPS]

11. Hegseth will just order the troops to pray harder at his daily prayer meetings.

[maxsolomon]

16. Fatih, the term "Dire Straits" preceded the band.

Perhaps you didn't receive that Communique?

[BidenRocks]

18. One of the causes of WWII in the Pacific

were the embargoes on Japans' access to oil.
Who did it? America did it!
Bomb them!

How long until WWIII for the same reason?