The International Energy Agency (IEA) wants to release crude oil reserves again in order to mitigate the consequences of Russia’s war against Ukraine on the markets. The 31 member countries of the agency decided this at an emergency meeting on Friday in Paris, as the IEA announced. The IEA intends to announce the extent of the second release of reserves since the outbreak of war early next week. In a first step, the IEA released 62.7 million barrels of crude oil a month ago. IEA members have emergency stocks totaling 1.5 billion barrels.
The IEA ministers underlined their concern about the consequences of the Russian war of aggression for energy security. Major disruptions to Russian oil production could lead to a global oil shortage. The global oil markets continue to be heavily burdened, which leads to increased price fluctuations. This comes as commercial inventories are at their lowest level since 2014 and oil producers are limited in their ability to make additional supplies. The IEA Governing Board also recommended that governments and consumers continue and intensify efforts to save energy.