DUBAI The jobs and livelihoods of some 300 million people are at risk in the current crisis in the global oil business, according to Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency. Birol said the oil industry is going through “perhaps the worst time in its history, and this could have major implications for the global economy, financial markets, and even more for employment.” He added: “Tens of millions of people are going to lose their jobs. In just one example, we have calculated that in the refinery sector and petrol stations alone, around 50 million people are employed, and they’re supporting families totaling 250 million people, and most of them will lose their jobs if it continues like this.” The Covid-19 pandemic has led to an unprecedented collapse in demand for oil, with more than 20 million barrels — around 20 percent of normal consumption — lost over the past few weeks. The oil price has halved, he told Arab News. Birol was involved in the behind-the-scenes talks with the Saudi presidency of the G20 group of leading countries to organize a special meeting of energy ministers at the end of this week, in a bid to address current levels of oversupply.“I raised this idea with Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdul Aziz bin Salman because Saudi Arabia has been a stabilizing factor in the market for many years, and I was hopeful that Saudi would agree with this suggestion, as well as the other 19 G20 countries,” Birol said
