IEA members agree to release 400 million barrels of oil from emergency reserves
Member states of the International Energy Agency (IEA) have unanimously agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil from their emergency reserves to the market to address disruptions caused by the war in the Middle East, the agency said in a statement on Wednesday.
The oil will be made available at a pace tailored to the national circumstances of each country, according to the statement. Some countries will also introduce additional emergency measures. The decision to draw on strategic reserves follows an emergency meeting of the IEA on Tuesday.
Among those that have already announced they will release part of their reserves are Germany, Japan and Netherlands. The IEA has 32 members, which together hold more than 1.2 billion barrels of emergency reserves. In addition, companies also maintain oil reserves that can be released at the request of a government.
Belgium holds off
Belgium, also an IEA member, is not yet tapping its strategic oil reserves of 92 days, Energy minister Mathieu Bihet said on Wednesday. "These reserves are not an instrument for regulating prices, but a mechanism for guaranteeing security of supply when it is threatened. That is not currently the case," Bihet said.
The 400 million barrels now set to be released represent a record for the IEA. It is only the fifth time in the organisation's history that such a measure has been taken. The previous release came after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, when more than 182 million barrels were made available.
The announcement did not lead to a drop in oil prices on Wednesday afternoon. A barrel of Brent crude oil fluctuated around 90 dollars, more than 3 per cent higher than on Tuesday.
PHOTO © OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP
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