Following an agreement reached on 1 April by IEA member countries for a further emergency release of oil stocks, the IEA Board of Directors confirmed today that the total amount committed to date stands at 120 million barrels, making it the largest stockpile release in IEA history.
The unanimous agreement between IEA member countries on April 1 for a second collective action this year came in response to significant tensions in oil markets resulting from Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In the days following the decision, each IEA member country considered how much they could contribute to the announced response plan, given their national circumstances.
Commitments submitted by members reached 120 million barrels to be released over a six-month period, showing strong unity. The United States will contribute about 60 million barrels, which is part of the larger reduction in its Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) announced on March 31.
Over the next six months, approximately 240 million barrels of emergency oil stocks, equivalent to more than 1 million barrels per day, will be made available to the global market.
“The unprecedented decision to launch two emergency oil stocks just a month apart, and on a scale greater than any in IEA history, reflects the determination of member countries protect the global economy from the social and economic impacts of an oil shock following Russia's aggression against Ukraine,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. “This latest collective action demonstrates once again the unity of IEA member countries in their solidarity with Ukraine and their determination to ensure the stability of the oil market in this difficult period. Events in Ukraine are becoming more distressing by the day, and the IEA must act at this time to relieve some of the tensions in the energy markets.
At the start of the Russian invasion, IEA member countries held 1.5 billion barrels of public reserves and about 575 million barrels under industrial obligations. Therefore, the IEA's two collective actions this year of 62.7 million barrels , which were agreed on March 1, and 120 million barrels represent 9% of total emergency reserves.
Emergency oil stocks in IEA member countries are either in the form of public stocks (owned by the state or by specialized bodies) or stocks held by industry under a government obligation. In the case of public stocks, these can be released through tenders or market loans, which will be launched and released over the coming weeks and months, depending on the specific storage system. and market needs in each country. In the case of obligated industrial stocks, the obligations will be reduced, through legislative decrees or administrative mandates, to make the volumes available for consumption.
Source
- IEA
Posted on 2022-04-08 10:00
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