• The International Energy Agency (IEA) considers further strategic stock releases amid supply disruptions.

• Executive Director Fatih Birol says global markets have lost about 11 million barrels per day.

• Ongoing disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz threaten roughly 20% of global oil flows and raise import costs worldwide.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) is consulting several governments on potential additional releases of strategic stocks, Executive Director Fatih Birol said on March 23. Discussions involve countries in Asia and Europe amid heightened global supply tensions, according to multiple international media reports.

Fatih Birol delivered these remarks in Canberra, Australia, during a public event at the National Press Club of Australia. He highlighted “urgent energy challenges” linked to ongoing disruptions in international markets.

The agency said it stands ready to act “if necessary” to support energy markets. This option follows a coordinated decision on March 11, when members released 400 million barrels from emergency reserves, marking the largest operation of its kind.

Fatih Birol said the global market has lost about 11 million barrels per day, a level exceeding the oil shocks of the 1970s, according to Reuters. “We are in the middle of a global energy crisis,” he said, adding that the current situation is “more severe than the oil shocks of the 1970s.”

According to The Arab Weekly, he also said the crisis combines simultaneous tensions in oil and gas markets, affecting multiple regions worldwide. In Africa, several countries are facing rising oil prices linked to disruptions in maritime routes, particularly the Strait of Hormuz, a transit point for about 20% of global oil supply.

The disruption is complicating access to refined products and increasing import costs for several economies. Ecofin Agency reports that countries such as Ghana, South Africa, and Kenya are turning to the Dangote Refinery to secure fuel imports.

However, Fatih Birol said potential stock releases can help “mitigate the impact on the [global] economy,” but they do not solve the crisis. He said the most decisive solution remains the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. He warned that global energy security will remain at risk as long as this strategic passage stays blocked.

This article was initially published in French by Abdel-Latif Boureima

Adapted in English by Ange J.A de Berry Quenum