Global energy crisis highlights meagre oil buffers in developing world

Governments are scrambling to unload emergency oil stockpiles due to the energy crunch caused by the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Import-reliant poorer countries are among the worst affected, lacking energy reserves to cushion the blow. The International Energy Agency, comprised of 32 industrialised countries, has released emergency reserves, but this move highlights the lack of stockpiles across much of the Global South. Developing countries are among the "least able to pay the premium" prices, making them vulnerable to price shocks.