EU says it's ready for possible oil shortage

Azerbaijan, Baku, April 23 / Trend S.Isayev, V. Zhavoronkova/

The Commission continues to monitor the situation regarding the oil supplies to Europe, and stands ready to respond if needed, a source in the Energy Department of the European Commission told Trend on Monday.

The source noted that the EU is well stocked with oil and petroleum products to face a potential disruption of supplies, adding that the supplies are equivalent to over 4 years of EU oil imports from Iran.

Last week, Iran's Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi said that country will cut oil export to all European countries if they do not lift sanctions on Tehran after the next round of talks in Baghdad.

Earlier this month, Iran has already cut supplies to Greece, a country heavily dependant on the oil exports from Islamic Republic. After January 2012, Iran cut supplies to Britain and France.

The Energy Department source in European Commission told Trend that the continuity of supplies of crude oil and petroleum products to European consumers should not be affected, even in case of an abrupt halt of all imports from Iran.

"A meeting of the Oil Supply Group may be convened at short notice if the situation so requires. The Group can be convened at the request of any Member State or on the Commission's own initiative," said the source.

According to the source, so far no EU member state indicated a need for a consultation or for a release of emergency stocks.

"Some Member States already stopped purchasing crude from Iran, while others are reducing their purchases and switch to alternative suppliers." the source said.