IEA proposes largest ever oil release from strategic reserves, WSJ says
The newspaper said the release would exceed the 182 million barrels of oil that IEA member countries released in two releases in 2022, when Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The newspaper said the IEA called an extraordinary meeting of its members on Tuesday and countries were expected to decide on the proposal the next day.
It was stated that the plan would be accepted if there were no objections, but even a single country’s protest could delay the effort.
G7 energy ministers failed to reach an agreement on releasing strategic oil reserves but said Wednesday they supported the idea in principle.
French President Emmanuel Macron will chair a meeting of G7 leaders later on Wednesday.
“In principle, we support the implementation of proactive measures to address the situation, including the use of strategic reserves,” G7 energy ministers said. he said. “G7 members will carefully consider the recommendations.” A G7 source told Reuters that although no country is currently experiencing a physical shortage of crude oil, prices have risen sharply and leaving the situation unattended is not an option.
However, the source said that an actual release cannot begin immediately as decisions on issues such as total volume, country allocations and timing require further discussion.
“The IEA secretariat is expected to propose scenarios based on the expected market impact, and support may also extend to non-IEA members such as China and India,” the source said.
The IEA and the White House did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
IEA member South Korea has joined the discussion and is “reviewing its position,” a spokesman for the country’s industry ministry said on Wednesday.
Oil prices fell sharply on Wednesday as markets doubted whether the IEA’s plan to release record oil reserves could offset potential supply shocks from the conflict in the Middle East.
