IEA Agrees to Speed Up Release of Remaining Emergency Oil Stocks: More Than 20 Million Barrels of Diesel to Reach the Market as Soon as Possible; Members Have Released About 330 Million Barrels So Far
Paris/London/Madrid — The International Energy Agency's governing board met on Thursday, October 15, to discuss the scale and timing of stock releases and agreed to accelerate the release of the remaining volumes from its record emergency action pledged in March, including releasing more than 20 million barrels of diesel to the market as soon as possible to boost supply and cool soaring prices, Reuters reported. In a statement after the meeting, the IEA said its governing board reaffirmed its commitment to continue delivering on the March 2026 Collective Action in response to the Strait of Hormuz crisis, and that members had agreed to accelerate the release of the remaining volumes, with specific plans already in place.
In March, as prices soared, member countries had pledged to release more than 400 million barrels of crude oil and oil products, a record emergency release. The IEA said members have released approximately 330 million barrels so far, that some members had already released more than they pledged in March, and that others planned to do so. Spain said on Thursday that it would release 4.4 million barrels from its strategic reserves in October; Spain has released 3.7 million of the 11.5 million barrels it pledged in March.
Diesel prices have surged to record highs in many markets. Reuters reported that supply has been disrupted by the Iran war and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, posing inflation and cost-of-living threats to governments and consumers. U.S. President Donald Trump has pressed European Union countries to draw down reserves or face a potential U.S. diesel export ban, as he seeks to lower prices ahead of the November 3 midterm elections. The U.S. Energy Department said further IEA releases, with a focus on diesel, are under review and in progress, and that the administration continues to hold European nations accountable for failing to fulfill their previous commitments to minimize supply disruptions in global energy markets and to help lower energy prices. The White House, when asked if it was unhappy with the IEA's commitment to draw down reserves, provided the IEA's statement from Thursday on the releases.
On the market reaction, a source familiar with the details of the discussion said the figure of 20 million barrels of diesel is lower than the 50 million barrels that had been considered earlier. Reuters reported earlier this month that EU governments were discussing a French proposal for the release of 50 million barrels of diesel alongside 50 million barrels of crude from IEA members. Abhishek Kumar, an analyst at Sparta Commodities, told Reuters the IEA announcement is a step in the right direction but falls short on the details the market was looking for, and that the more than 20 million barrels of diesel appear to be an acceleration of existing commitments rather than genuinely new volumes.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：荷兰鹿特丹港欧洲港区第五石油港储罐区航拍（资料图）。图片来源：Rik Schuiling / TropCrop-TCS / Archive，Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 3.0。Photo: Aerial view of the storage tank area at the Fifth Petroleum Port, Europoort, Rotterdam, Netherlands (file photo). Image: Rik Schuiling / TropCrop-TCS / Archive, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
