While 2022 was about gas, this year’s energy crisis is about oil in Oil & Companies News 04/06/2026 Not all energy crises are the same, as the fallout from the Iran war currently shows. The risks to Australia are not the same either. The war has seen 25% of global oil seaborne trade and close to 20% of liquefied natural gas (LNG) trade cut off due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Australian consumers and businesses are now highly concerned about petrol and diesel prices. However, when Russia invaded Ukraine four years ago, the prime concern was about gas and electricity prices. The closure of the world’s main chokepoint for oil and LNG has had less of an impact on global prices for gas and electricity (given the strong link between the two in many markets). Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) account for a fifth of global LNG capacity (about 119 billion cubic metres (bcm)), but this only amounts to about 3% of global gas supplies because LNG makes up just 15% (around 670bcm) of global gas consumption (4,290bcm). In comparison, Russia’s pre-war gas supply to Europe was about 155bcm in 2021, or 45% of the EU’s gas imports. Russia’s invasion of its neighbour in February 2022 triggered the EU to switch away from Russian pipeline gas and subsequently increased the demand for LNG. Furthermore, there are alternatives to LNG, at least for electricity generation, now or in the near future. The volume of gas shipped by Qatar and UAE could generate up to 1,250 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity (excluding energy losses). According to energy consultant Michael Liebreich, this could be replaced by other energy sources such as solar, wind and batteries in about nine months. Installations of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels added 636TWh of generation to global electricity capacity in 2025, bolstered by the addition of a further 205TWh of wind generation. Liebreich argues that wind and solar PV installation could be quickly ramped up based on existing manufacturing c