Global energy bodies warn of shipping, insurance costs threatening market stability

The International Energy Agency (IEA), International Energy Forum (IEF) and Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) have convened industry stakeholders and experts to explore solutions to rising shipping and insurance costs threatening global energy security and market stability.

The organisations disclosed this in a statement following their Joint Technical Workshop on the Security of Energy Flows: Maritime Routes and Market Stability, held virtually on November 4, 2026.

The workshop followed a request by ministers at the Declaration of Cooperation (DoC) consultation meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on October 12, 2026, after the 17th International Energy Forum (IEF17).

At the meeting, ministers stressed the importance of uninterrupted energy supplies, expressed concern over rising shipping and insurance costs and called for continued engagement with the IEF, IEA and other international partners to address the challenges.

The workshop also builds on the trilateral cooperation programme of the three organisations, particularly their shared concerns about protecting energy infrastructure and international trade routes.

The meeting was convened under the leadership of OPEC Secretary General, Haitham Al Ghais; IEA Executive Director, Fatih Birol; and IEF Secretary General, Jassim Alshirawi.

Speaking at the meeting, Al Ghais said participants in the Declaration of Cooperation remained committed to maintaining global energy market stability.

“Participants in the DoC remain fully committed to supporting the stability of global energy markets. In this regard, our discussions will be vital to help identify possible solutions to the challenges facing both producers and consumers in relation to current maritime trade,” he said.

He stressed that maritime energy transportation remained a critical pillar of global energy security, warning that shipping and insurance costs in 2026 had risen significantly to more than one-third of the underlying value of crude oil.

He added that higher transportation and risk costs had spread across the oil and energy value chains, putting pressure on producing and consuming economies and adding to global inflationary pressures.

Birol described the situation as an unprecedented crisis affecting oil and gas production and transportation, despite efforts by producers to sustain supplies under difficult circumstances.

“While producers have worked hard to maintain supply, under extremely difficult circumstances, we must all work to safeguard freedom of maritime navigation, a central pillar of global energy security,” he said.

He added that the collaboration between the IEA, IEF and OPEC was aimed at finding lasting solutions to the challenges.

Similarly, Alshirawi said safe maritime passage was essential to energy security and market stability for producers, consumers and transit countries.

“Disruption can raise energy, food and transport costs far beyond the region affected, with the greatest hardship falling on vulnerable communities,” he said.

He noted that cooperation among the three organisations could strengthen dialogue and data transparency, restore market confidence, support investments and build more resilient global energy markets.

The workshop underscored the flexibility of the joint programme of work agreed upon by the IEA, IEF and OPEC and endorsed by energy ministers at the 12th International Energy Forum in Cancún, Mexico, in March 2010, under the Cancún Declaration.