IEA countries release more than 80% of promised oil

The countries participating in the International Energy Agency (IEA) released about 325 million barrels of oil from reserves under the agreed in March program of 400 million barrels. This was announced by the executive director of the agency Fatih Birol at a meeting of G7 leaders, the IEA said in a press release.

According to Birol, the market received more than 80% of the originally promised volume. He noted that the use of reserves helped to compensate for the shortage of supplies and reduce the concerns of market participants.

At the same time, the consequences of the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz remain acute, primarily for the diesel fuel market, the head of the IEA said. Crude oil exports from the Middle East have largely recovered, but the supply of petroleum products remains severely limited. The situation with diesel, according to him, is further complicated by attacks on refineries during the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

Birol warned that supply cuts and rising prices were creating economic risks. At the meeting, he presented possible measures to stabilize supplies in the near term and increase the stability of the energy market. G7 leaders instructed the agency to continue this work.

On March 11, the IEA countries agreed on the largest release of strategic reserves in the history of the organization - 400 million barrels. The decision was made to compensate for the disruption caused by the conflict in the Middle East. Then the Agency reported that the flow of oil and petroleum products through the Strait of Hormuz decreased to 10% of the level before the conflict.

The IEA includes Australia, Austria, Belgium, Great Britain, Hungary, Germany, Greece, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Canada, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, USA, Turkey, Finland, France, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Sweden, South Korea, Spain.

As part of the joint action, the United States announced the release of 172 million barrels from its strategic oil reserve. Energy Secretary Chris Wright initially estimated the supply duration to be about 120 days.

Later, the US Department of Energy announced a tender for the transfer of another 40 million barrels to the companies, with the condition of the subsequent return of oil along with an additional volume. Deliveries are scheduled for November and December 2026, applications are accepted until October 6. According to the agency, in the four previous exchange operations, the companies transferred more than 133 million barrels.

On October 2, US President Donald Trump said that European countries had agreed to release diesel fuel reserves. Earlier, according to Reuters sources, France proposed to release 50 million barrels of diesel on the market, and the IEA countries - another 50 million barrels of crude oil. The discussion took place against the background of US demands to use European reserves and threats to limit diesel exports to Europe.

Following the G7 meeting, French President Emmanuel Macron announced an agreement to release up to 100 million barrels of diesel from strategic reserves within four months under the coordination of the IEA. The G7 leaders also agreed to boost refinery productivity and lift restrictions on trade in energy and petroleum products between partner countries.