IEA Discloses Details of Oil Reserve Release: 400 Million Barrels Set to Flood Market, Asia-Pacific Members Already in Action

On Sunday, local time, the International Energy Agency (IEA) disclosed the details of its plan to release oil reserves. The organization announced it will begin supplying over 400 million barrels of emergency reserves to stabilize international oil prices.

The IEA stated that its Asian and Oceania member countries will immediately provide reserve energy, while oil reserves in Europe and the Americas will start being released at the end of March. This is the latest update following the IEA’s announcement of its oil release plan four days ago.

On Monday morning, the Japanese government announced it would start releasing oil reserves from the 16th. The total release amounts to approximately 80 million barrels, enough to cover Japan’s oil needs for 45 days, marking the largest release since Japan established its national oil reserve system in 1978.

According to an IEA statement, 271.7 million barrels of oil in its reserve release plan come from government stocks of member countries, 116.6 million barrels from industry reserves held by obligated industries, and an additional 23.6 million barrels from other sources.

The IEA said that most of the committed oil release (195.8 million barrels) comes from American member countries, with 172.2 million barrels from government reserves in the Americas. Asian and Oceania member countries have committed to releasing 108.6 million barrels, including 66.8 million barrels from government reserves; European members have committed 107.5 million barrels, including 32.7 million barrels from government reserves.

The IEA’s statement noted that 72% of the planned oil release is crude oil, and 28% is petroleum products.

The IEA was established in 1974 following the oil crisis and this is the sixth coordinated release of reserves since its founding. Previously, member countries have taken collective action in 1991, 2005, 2011, and twice in 2022.

Since the start of the Iran conflict on February 28, global oil and natural gas supplies—about one-fifth of the world’s total—have been disrupted, causing international oil prices to surge. The IEA’s current oil reserve release aims to mitigate the impact of this price spike.

IEA member countries hold over 1.2 billion barrels of emergency reserves, with an additional 600 million barrels stored in industrial reserves mandated by governments.

(Source: Cailian Press)