G7 to discuss release of emergency oil reserves as price tops $100 | Oil
G7 finance ministers are set to discuss the release of emergency oil reserves after the US-Israeli war with Iran pushed the price of crude oil above $100 (£75) for the first time since 2022, according to reports.
According to the Financial Times, ministers will discuss the release of reserves in a call coordinated by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
The emergency meeting will be held at 8:30 a.m. New York time to discuss the effects of the Iran war, the FT reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter.
So far, three G7 countries, including the United States, have reportedly backed the release of emergency reserves held by the IEA’s 32 member countries around the world.
The IEA maintains strategic oil reserves as part of a contingency system designed to help countries withstand oil price crises. U.S. officials believe a joint release in the range of 300 to 400 million barrels, representing 25% to 35% of the 1.2 billion barrels in reserves, would be appropriate.
Oil prices rose and stocks in Asia fell on Monday morning after ongoing violence in the Middle East fed investor concerns about supply shortages, sending Brent crude to a four-year high and triggering a sell-off in the stock market.
At least five energy facilities in and around Tehran were hit by strikes. Kuwait’s national oil company also announced a precautionary production cut due to Iran’s retaliatory attacks.
The Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately one-fifth of global oil and seaborne gas tankers pass, has actually been closed for a week.
International benchmark Brent crude rose as much as 29 percent to $119.50 per barrel in early trading on Monday. It retreated slightly following the G7 meeting news, trading 15% higher at $106.73.
While Donald Trump has vowed to reduce inflation and energy costs, he said on Sunday that the rise in oil prices was “a very small price to pay” for the United States and the World, Security and Peace, calling it a “short-term” consequence of the US-Israeli war against Iran.
The Iranian regime has warned that US-Israeli attacks risk raising prices even further. A spokesman for the country’s Revolutionary Guard said after the attacks on energy fields: “If you can tolerate more than $200 per barrel of oil, go ahead with this game.”
The emergency oil reserve system was established as part of the establishment of the IEA in 1974 following the Arab oil embargo, which led to rising crude oil prices and a fuel crisis in the west.
Since its founding, the IEA has coordinated five mass evacuations from reserves; the last two occurred in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
