IEA: "Iran-triggered energy crisis is the worst on record… considering additional strategic oil releases"

Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), said on the 1st (local time) that the agency is "considering additional strategic oil releases."

According to U.S. CNBC and others on the 1st (local time), Birol made the remarks during a podcast appearance that day, saying, "We are analyzing market conditions 24 hours a day, even hour by hour." He added, "The energy crisis triggered by the war involving Iran is the worst in history," and said, "April will be much more serious than March."

Birol said, however, that even additional releases of strategic reserves would not be enough to resolve disruptions to crude supply. "When the time is right, we will decide whether to propose (a release of strategic stocks) to governments," he said, adding, "(But) additional strategic releases only help reduce the pain; they are not a cure." He continued, "The cure is opening the Strait of Hormuz," adding, "We are buying time, but we are not claiming that releasing the supplies we have can be a solution."

He also suggested that an 'energy rationing system' could soon be implemented in some countries. Birol said, "The volume of oil losses in April will be twice that of March," adding, "This will lead to inflation and hamper economic growth in many countries, especially emerging economies." He continued, "Energy rationing could soon be introduced in many countries," and said, "We are facing the largest disruption in history."