IEA considers OPEC+ decisions disappointing and says it has enough stock

The executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) considered the decisions of the members of OPEC + as disappointing, and assured that it has enough ‘stock’ to continue operating in the oil markets, in which prices are through the roof .

The members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their associates (OPEC+) persisted in their trickle-down approach on Wednesday, despite prices soaring as a result of the war in Ukraine, raising supply fears.

The Executive Director of the IEA, fatih biroldescribed these decisions with a single word: “disappointing”.

But, “we have more than enough reserves to intervene if warranted”, he added.

The IEA had announced on Tuesday that member countries will release 60 million barrels of crude oil from their emergency reserves to stabilize the market after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“These 60 million barrels barely represent 4% of our stock”, underlined Birol, insisting that the measure announced on Tuesday was only “initial”.

In the context of war in Ukraine, these measures taken by the IEA they have not been enough to mitigate the rise in oil prices.

This Thursday, they increased even more, with a barrel of US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude exceeding US $ 115, the highest figure since 2008, and North Sea Brent approaching US $ 120.

The IEAbased in Paris, was founded in 1974 to guarantee supply to developed countries after the oil crisis, a mission that has since been expanded.

It has 31 members, including the United States, Japan and several European countries (Germany, Spain, France, Italy, United Kingdom, among others).

Each member must maintain emergency reserves of crude oil to cover the equivalent of imports for 90 days. In the event of supply problems, they may decide to release their stocks on the market in the context of a coordinated intervention.

The countries of the organization have a ‘stock’ of 1,500 million barrels of crude oil.