Which Countries Qualify for International Energy Agency Membership?

​A Bronze Star veteran, Duke Ligon of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is an attorney focused on energy, mining, and environmental law. Formerly the head of the US working group for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Duke Ligon headed the US delegation that formed the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Founded in 1974, IEA is at the center of international discourse on energy, advocating for policies that will enhance energy reliability and affordability for its 29 member countries. To be a member of IEA, a country should show it has: enough accessible net crude oil reserves to sustain it for 90 days based on its previous year’s average oil imports, a restraint program in place to reduce oil consumption by 10 percent, legislation to ensure oil companies operating within its borders report necessary information, and legislation to operate the Coordinated Emergency Response Measures (CERM), which is the IEA’s rapid response system during oil disruptions.

Candidate countries should also be members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). There are measures in place to determine whether candidate countries can meet all these requirements. The final decision on membership rests with the Governing Board. 

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