Emergency Response Training and Outreach

Emergency Response Exercise

The Emergency Response Exercise (ERE) is the primary tool with which the IEA trains country delegates on matters related to the IEA co-ordinated emergency response system. It helps to ensure that those delegates and Secretariat staff are prepared in the event of a major disruption to global oil supplies. ERE make use of hypothetical disruption scenarios to help familiarise participants with the main components of the IEA response system, as well as the key trends and risk factors impacting the global oil market. Participants include delegates from IEA Member, Association, and Key Partner countries, representatives from the IEA Industry Advisory Board and European Commission, other industry stakeholders, and IEA Secretariat staff.

ERE is held on a biennial basis, with different components taking place either in person and/or via email. The next ERE will take place in 2018.  For information on the previous exercises, click here.

Country Specific Exercises

In an effort to promote energy security in countries outside of the Agency’s membership, the Secretariat periodically conducts country specific training exercises. With countries outside the IEA accounting for an increasingly significant share of global oil demand, the issue of emergency preparedness has become a global issue. The IEA participates in the yearly exercises in Thailand. The Secretariat conducted an ERE in China in 2015. Prior to that, the Secretariat conducted an ERE in India.

Exercises on Natural Gas Security

As the IEA’s concept of energy security has expanded to include other energy sources beyond oil, so too have the Secretariat’s efforts in training and capacity building. In 2016, Secretariat staff worked with representatives from the Japanese administration to conduct the Gas Resiliency Assessment of Japan. Conducted as a one-day workshop, the exercise aimed to identify risks and challenges related to natural gas supply in Japan, examine whether existing policies for addressing these challenges are sufficient, and determine whether or not they will remain so going forward.