The International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Energy Forum (IEF) and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) held a joint technical workshop on maritime energy flows on 4 November, bringing together industry experts to discuss shipping, insurance and market stability at a time of severe disruption to sea routes.

The online meeting, formally the Joint IEA-IEF-OPEC Technical Workshop on the Security of Energy Flows: Maritime Routes and Market Stability, was convened under OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais, IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol and IEF Secretary General Jassim Alshirawi. It was held at the request of ministers of the Declaration of Cooperation, who met in Riyadh on 12 October 2026 after the 17th IEF Ministerial Conference.

Shipping costs now over a third of crude's value

The three organisations said shipping and insurance costs in 2026 have risen to more than one-third of the underlying value of crude oil, an unprecedented level that is impeding the timely movement of crude and products and adding inflationary pressure to the global economy. The workshop builds on the trilateral programme of work agreed by the three bodies and endorsed by energy ministers at the 12th International Energy Forum in Cancún in March 2010.

Some coverage has described the meeting as an emergency summit. The official wording is a technical workshop, and it is described as such here. No new production decision or price measure was announced.

Sources: International Energy Forum, IEA, IEF, and OPEC convene industry experts for crucial dialogue on maritime energy flows, 4 November 2026; IndexBox, IEA-IEF-OPEC Workshop Tackles Maritime Energy Security, Shipping and Insurance Costs, 5 November 2026.