PARIS, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Member countries of the International Energy Agency (IEA) could release additional oil stocks "as and if needed," despite the current coordinated release of reserves already agreed upon, IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said on Monday.
In a video statement, Birol said that government and industry stocks held under government obligation would still amount to more than 1.4 billion barrels after the current release. He added that the ongoing release, once completed, will reduce member countries' reserves by only about 20 percent.
The 32 member countries on March 11 unanimously agreed to make 400 million barrels of oil from their emergency reserves available to the market in response to disruptions caused by the Middle East conflict.
"The volume of oil supply now offline is already higher than the supply loss during the oil shock of 1973, and higher than any of the major disruptions we have witnessed since then," Birol said, stressing that restoring normal shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains critical to stabilizing oil markets. ■
