International Energy Agency - History

History

The IEA was established to meet the industrial countries' energy organization needs in the wake of the 1973–1974 oil crisis. Although the OECD had structures for dealing with energy questions such as the Council, the Executive Committee, the Oil Committee, and the Energy Committee, it could not respond effectively to the crisis. The OECD had adopted the Oil Apportionment Decision, laying out procedures to be carried out in the event of an oil supply emergency in Europe, but these procedures were not implemented during the crisis. In addition, the OECD had adopted recommendations on oil stockpiling in Europe. Due to their limited scope, these measures could have only a limited role in an oil supply emergency.

Establishment of the new organization was proposed by United States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in his address to the Pilgrims Society in London on 12 December 1973. Also in December 1973, at the summit of the European Communities in Copenhagen, Danish Prime Minister Anker Jørgensen who chaired the summit, declared that the summit find "useful to study with other oil-consuming countries within the framework of the OECD ways of dealing with the common short and long term energy problems of consumer countries". At the Washington Energy Conference on 11-13 February 1974, the ministers of thirteen principal oil consumer countries stated "the need for a comprehensive action program to deal with all facets of the world energy situation by cooperative measures. In so doing they will build on the work of the OECD".

While creating a new energy organization, it was decided to utilize the framework of the OECD as it had experiences in dealing with oil and other energy questions, had expertise in economic analysis and statistics, had established staff, physical facilities, legal status and privileges and immunities, and was the principal organization of the industrial countries. However, as the OECD has a rule of unanimity and not all member states were not ready to participate. Therefore, instead of an integrated approach, an autonomous approach was chosen.

The IEA was created on 18 November 1974 by the Agreement on an International Energy Program" (I.E.P. Agreement).

During its history, the IEA has intervened in oil markets three times by releasing oil stocks — in 1991 during the Gulf War, in 2005 for a month after Hurricane Katrina affected US production by releasing 2 million barrels per day (320×10^3 m3/d) and most recently in 2011 to offset continued disruption to oil supplies as a result of the 2011 Libyan civil war.