Reuters. The International Energy Agency is consulting with governments in Asia and Europe on the release of more stockpiled oil "if necessary" due to the Iran war, Executive Director Fatih Birol said on Monday (March 23).
IEA member nations agreed on March 11 to release a record 400 million barrels of oil from strategic stockpiles to combat the spike in global crude prices. The drawdown represented 20% of overall stocks.
The IEA chief began his world tour in Canberra as the Asia Pacific is at the forefront of the oil crisis, he said, given its reliance on oil and other crucial products like fertilizer and helium transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
He described the crisis in the Middle East as "very severe" and worse than the two oil shocks of the 1970s, as well as the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on gas, put together.
The war on Iran had taken 11 million barrels of oil per day from global supply, more than the two prior oil shocks combined.
