World can rely on OPEC supply cushion for urgent oil needs: IEA

World can rely on OPEC supply cushion for urgent oil needs: IEA:

Production cutbacks by OPEC nations are building a supply cushion that could be called upon to mitigate a possible supply shock from an abrupt drop in crisis-hit Venezuela’s output, the IEA said Friday.

With a nationwide blackout that paralyzed the country for one week, demonstrating the unreliability of the country’s electricity network, new questions are being raised about Venezuela’s ability to continue to produce and export oil.

In its latest monthly report, the Paris-based International Energy Agency said that Venezuela’s oil industry operations were seriously disrupted by the blackout and warned that “ongoing losses on a significant scale could present a challenge to the market.”