IEA says members have released 325 million barrels from strategic reserves

International Energy Agency member countries have so far released 325 million barrels of oil and oil products from strategic reserves, the agency said on Saturday. The figure is below the 400 million barrels that countries promised to release in March. The IEA did not, in the supplied report, explain the full reason for the shortfall or provide a timetable for releasing the remaining amount.

The update came one day after the Group of Seven countries, coordinating with the IEA, agreed to immediately release 100 million barrels of diesel and crude oil. The planned release is intended to ease global energy supply concerns caused by the fallout from the US-Iran war. The supplied material did not give details of the participating countries’ individual contributions or say when the new volumes would reach markets.

It was also unclear whether the G7’s 100 million barrels included the outstanding 75 million barrels from the March IEA commitment or represented an additional release. Strategic reserves are being used as governments respond to concerns about available energy supplies. However, the source did not provide information on oil prices, production levels, consumption or the expected effect of the latest decision on consumers.

The IEA’s statement therefore established the amount released so far and the new G7 commitment, while leaving unresolved how the two figures relate to each other and whether the earlier target will be fully met.