PARIS, March 17 (NNN-dpa) — Following the release of strategic oil reserves, the International Energy Agency (IEA) is counting on a swift stabilisation of the markets.
“With this unprecedented action in place, I very much hope the situation will be resolved quickly to enable markets to start recovering,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said in Paris on Monday, reported German news agency dpa.
“This quick action by the IEA had a calming impact on markets. Oil prices today are significantly lower than they were one week ago,” Birol added.
“But while our stock release can provide a buffer for now, it is not a lasting solution,” the IEA chief also said.
He called the resumption of transit through the Strait of Hormuz “the single most important thing for a return to stable flows of oil and gas.”
Last Wednesday, the IEA announced that its 32 member countries intend to release a record 400 million barrels of crude oil in response to the war in Iran.
Once completed, the current release will reduce emergency reserves in IEA countries by only around 20 per cent.
In addition to the full member states, other countries associated with the energy agency were also examining how they could support the IEA.
These included India, Colombia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, Birol said.
“But of course we also have to be prepared in case it continues fora while longer,” the IEA director added, referring to the stalled global oil supply. “And even if the strait were to reopen tomorrow, the IEA estimates it will still take time for the global energy trade to recover.”
The large Middle Eastern oil producers, as well as Russia, are not IEA members.
–NNN-dpa