IEA says prepared for possible oil shortages

PARIS, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) said Thursday it would continue to access the market and reiterated its preparedness to take additional action in case of possible oil shortages.

According to a statement released by the IEA, its governing board reviewed its initial collective response action of Sept. 2 to disrupted oil supplies in the wake of Hurricane Katrina that hit Gulf of Mexico and agreed to allow volumes of crude oil and oil products from the IEA's original offer of 60 million barrels, not yet taken up, to remain available to the market.

The governing board "reiterated its preparedness to take additional coordinated action, if necessary, to address possible future shortages in products and crude oil, caused by the cumulative damage left by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, or indeed, other unanticipated supply losses," said the statement.

Six Gulf Coast refineries that account for 7.6 percent of the total refining capacity of the United States remain closed after Katrina and Hurricane Rita. The Gulf Coast itself accounts for about 29 percent of total US oil production.

While focusing on development of short-term market, the IEA also said that embarking on long-term solutions is essential to curbing the growth of energy import dependency, economic vulnerability to high and volatile energy prices and meeting the challenge of climate change.

It reiterated its commitment to working towards a clean, clever and competitive energy future through national and international programs. "This includes major new initiatives launched by the IEA in support of the G8 plan of action, in particular, promoting global energy efficiency," it said.