Akhir 05 , 1432 H. / March 10, 2011 -- Maria van der Hoeven, a Dutch former economic affairs minister, has been appointed the next head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) and said it would not be hasty in using strategic oil stocks to tackle high oil prices, Reuters reported. Van der Hoeven, a member of the Christian Democrat party, will take over from Nobuo Tanaka in September as chief executive of the Paris-based energy market think tank, which advises 28 industrialised countries, at a time of heightened concerns over energy security. Despite the current turmoil in Libya and parts of the Middle East pushing up oil prices, the IEA has said a coordinated strategic oil stock release is not yet necessary but it is ready to act if needed. "IEA will not intervene quickly with the use of strategic oil stocks, which member states hold," Van der Hoeven told Dutch newswire ANP. "Those stocks are meant for emergencies." Formed in response to the 1973-74 oil crisis, the IEA's role initially was to help countries co-ordinate a response to major disruptions in oil supply through the release of emergency oil stocks to the markets. Its member countries hold oil stocks equivalent to at least 90 days of net oil imports and stand ready to take effective measures to meet any oil supply emergency. As minister, Van der Hoeven developed the Netherlands' role as a international centre for liquefied natural gas (LNG), wooing countries with large gas reserves such as Qatar and Russia. "In my previous job as minister of economic affairs, 40 percent of my time was spent working on energy matters," she told Dutch newswire ANP. The construction of an LNG terminal in Rotterdam, to be completed this year, was seen as an important step in attracting suppliers of the super-cooled gas for northwestern Europe. "She did a lot to promote the Netherlands as a gas hub and to secure gas supplies from Russia. There were a lot of bilateral meetings with (Russian gas company) Gazprom at that time, and she promoted ties with Arab countries," said an energy consultant who declined to be quoted by name. A former teacher who also was minister of education, culture and science, Van der Hoeven aimed to position the Netherlands as a gas hub, even when its own gas reserves are exhausted. -- SPA
