IEA head: Oil prices may exceed $100

Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), believes that if the situation in the Middle East worsens further, the price of oil may reach a triple-digit level, Report informs referring to TASS.

He was speaking in an interview with the Japanese newspaper Asahi.

“If Middle Eastern oil-producing countries become directly involved in the conflict,” said the head of the IEA, “then oil prices may well end up at a triple-digit level. But we are monitoring the situation on the market, we are ready to act if necessary.”

The head of the IEA pointed out that the members of this structure, if the situation worsens, will release oil from their strategic reserves onto the market to reduce prices.

The agency unites leading oil consuming countries. IEA members are required to have supplies equal to 90 days’ needs.

Birol also pointed out that the countries included in this structure over the past decades have reduced their dependence on supplies from the Middle East. The proliferation of nuclear power plants and the growth in the use of renewable energy sources also play a certain role, he said.