IEA chief says ready to act if Iran war creates need for another oil stockpile release

The head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, says he hopes another oil stockpile release is not needed but “we stand ready to act” if the energy shock resulting from the war with Iran requires it.

The 32-member IEA agreed last month to release 400 million barrels of oil from reserves, the largest coordinated release ever, in a bid to calm oil markets. The US, the world’s largest oil and gas producer, agreed to release 172 million barrels from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

“I hope, very much hope, we don’t need to do it but if it is needed we are ready to act,” Birol says.

Birol reiterates at an Atlantic Council event that the war has resulted in the worst global energy disruption ever and said that more than 80 oil and gas facilities including production, terminals and refineries across the Middle East have been damaged by war with Iran. Benchmark oil prices are trading near $100 a barrel.

Due to the vast extent of the production shut-ins and closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the oil releases are “not a solution,” Birol says. “It’s just reducing the pain.”