http://www.thecouriermail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,16489842%255E3122,00.htmlTHE International Energy Agency has warned of a global energy crisis sparked by the damage Hurricane Katrina has inflicted on strategically important oil refineries.
The warning from IEA executive director Claude Mandil came despite crude prices easing over the weekend as industrialised nations tried to head off an oil shock by tapping their emergency stockpiles to help meet US demand for fuel.
But despite the pledge from the IEA's 26 oil-consuming member nations to release 60 million barrels of fuel over the next 30 days, Mr Mandil said the damage inflicted on the Gulf of Mexico's refineries had very serious global implications.
With a significant proportion of the US's oil refining capacity impacted, Mr Mandil said the world's biggest consumer of fuel would likely have to look offshore to meet its requirements – and prices would rise as a result.
"They (the US) are already buying gasoline in Europe," Mr Mandil told German newspaper Die Welt.
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