PARIS - Nigeria, which is ​Africa's biggest ⁠oil producer, has ‌asked to join the ​International Energy Agency as an ​associate member, IEA ​executive director Fatih Birol said on Wednesday.

"Delighted ⁠to receive a formal request from the Government of Nigeria ​in ‌a letter ⁠from ⁠Minister Ekperikpe Ekpo for Nigeria to ​join the ‌IEA Family ⁠as an associate member government," Birol wrote on X.

The 32-member IEA said earlier on Wednesday that global oil supply will not ‌meet total demand this year ⁠as the ​Iran war wreaks havoc on Middle East ​oil ‌production.