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