IEA urges release of oil reserves to calm markets

Logo of International Energy Agency (IEA)

The International Energy Agency (IEA) called on its member countries to carry out a coordinated release of emergency oil reserves during a virtual meeting with Group of Seven (G7) finance ministers held on March 9.

The agency requested each country to participate in stockpile withdrawals as part of efforts to calm energy markets, Satsuki Katayama, Japan’s Finance Minister, said in a press briefing.

The call came during a meeting of G7 finance ministers to discuss the impact of the war in Iran on global markets, after Brent crude prices surged to more than $119 per barrel.

Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the IEA, said in a statement following the meeting that member countries currently hold more than 1.2 billion barrels of public oil stocks, in addition to another 600 million barrels held under government obligations.

Meanwhile, Roland Lescure, France’s Finance Minister, said the group has not yet reached the stage of organizing a coordinated release from emergency oil reserves, although the G7 affirmed its readiness to take all necessary measures to stabilize the oil market.