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

Caixin News, March 16 (Editor: Liu Rui) — On Sunday, the International Energy Agency (IEA) disclosed detailed plans for releasing its oil reserves. The agency 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 releasing at the end of March. This is the latest update following the announcement of its oil release plan four days ago.

Earlier this Monday, the Japanese government announced it would begin releasing oil reserves starting March 16. The total release will be about 80 million barrels, enough to cover Japan’s oil needs for 45 days, marking the largest release since the country established its national oil reserve system in 1978.

According to the IEA statement, 271.7 million barrels of oil in its reserve release plan come from member governments, 116.6 million barrels from industry reserves obligated by industry, 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% are petroleum products.

Founded in 1974 after the oil crisis, this is the sixth coordinated reserve release by the IEA. 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—have been disrupted, causing international oil prices to surge. The IEA’s current oil reserve release aims to mitigate the impact of rising oil prices.

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.

(Caixin News, Liu Rui)