Oil stocks to reach the market faster, IEA members decide

Members of the International Energy Agency (IEA) backed a faster release of the remaining roughly 100 million barrels of oil and refined products from strategic reserves, which they agreed on in March. Diesel stocks, supplies of which are now tight, should be released as a priority, IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol announced in a press statement. Member governments are also prepared to release additional oil and refined products from strategic reserves onto the market if needed.

Member countries still have stocks equivalent to roughly 1.1 billion barrels of oil, of which more than 200 million barrels are diesel. The IEA Governing Board will meet next week to reassess the situation.

Wars in Iran and Ukraine have damaged refineries and disrupted tanker operations. Diesel prices have consequently surged to record highs, affecting inflation and industries such as freight transport and agriculture.

In March, the IEA announced the release of a record 400 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves. The aim was to slow the sharp rise in oil prices and ease supply disruptions. Around 325 million barrels of this amount have been released so far.

The G7 group of advanced economies agreed last Friday to release 100 million barrels of oil and diesel in coordination with the IEA to ease concerns about global supplies sparked by the conflict between the United States and Iran. Although oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz have recently picked up, damage to refineries in the region and in Russia has caused shortages of some refined products, such as diesel.