International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol said at least 40 energy assets have been “severely or very severely” damaged across nine countries in the Middle East due to the war in the region. Birol also told the National Press Club in Canberra that he is currently consulting with Asian and European governments on potential further releases of stockpiled oil. “If it’s necessary, of course, we will do it, but we will look at the conditions, we will analyze the markets and discuss with our member countries,” he said, adding that there’s “no specific price level” for further intervention.
The IEA chief described the energy crisis as “very severe” and harsher than the impact of the two oil shocks of the 1970s and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine combined. “This crisis, as things stand now, is two oil crises and one gas crisis put all together,” he stressed on Monday.