The International Energy Agency (IEA) has asked its member countries to release a total of 400 million barrels of oil from their oil reserves. On Wednesday afternoon, all 32 member countries of the agency unanimously agreed to release the 400 million barrels of oil. The IEA reported this according to the Reuters news agency.
In a statement, IEA's Executive Director, Fatih Birol, describes the current situation, where the war in the Middle East is affecting the global oil market, as very serious and extensive.
- The challenges we face in the oil market are unprecedented in their scale. That is why I am very pleased that IEA member countries have responded with a joint emergency effort of unprecedented magnitude, says Fatih Birol.
It has been four years since the IEA last decided to release oil from the reserve. The 2022 decision was made after Russia invaded Ukraine, causing energy prices to skyrocket. Oil reserves were released to keep oil prices down. 182 million barrels of oil were released at that time.
This time the release is to replace some of the oil that cannot escape through the Strait of Hormuz, which separates Iran and the Arabian Peninsula and is important for the transport of oil from the Middle East.
The strait has been practically closed to shipping traffic after the war between Iran on the one hand and Israel and the US on the other broke out on February 28, and after the Revolutionary Guard in Iran took control of the strait.
Dan Jørgensen welcomes the decision
The EU's Energy and Housing Commissioner, Dan Jørgensen (S), welcomes the IEA's decision to release the oil reserves on the social media X.
- I welcome the decision of the IEA's member states to carry out a coordinated release of the oil reserves amid the current market disruptions caused by the conflict in Middle East.
- In times of adversity, unity and global cooperation are crucial. The Commission continues to coordinate the efforts of EU member states in cooperation with the IEA, writes Dan Jørgensen.
According to the newspaper The Guardian, the IEA has a total of 1.2 billion barrels of oil in reserve. In addition, there are around 600 million barrels that the industry has at its disposal.
/ritzau/
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