IEA’s Birol: Do not see major physical oil shortage that would make us consider releasing stocks due to Harvey

Reuters out with the following comments from the International Energy Agency (IEA) chief Faith Birol:

Currently as far as Harvey is concerned we do not see major physical shortage of oil which would make us consider a release of oil stocks

There is need to consider where we place our stocks, combination of crude oil vs products is an issue

Birol repeated a statement released from the IEA last Friday that read:

“The International Energy Agency is continuously monitoring the situation in Texas and Louisiana to assess its impact on oil and gas markets and is in very close contact with US authorities.

There are high levels of stocks in the affected regions and in the United States as a whole. These stocks are being supplemented by imports of gasoline to the East Coast of the United States and the US Secretary of Energy has taken action to ease localised crude-oil shortages in Texas, by providing crude-oil loans from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

The IEA does not currently see the need for a coordinated international release of oil stocks. To date, market mechanisms and government assistance have been adequate.”