Talks on further oil stocks release 'ongoing': Granholm

IEA members could again tap their national stockpiles if they see the need for more supplies, writes Georgia Gratton

IEA member countries are involved in "ongoing discussions" over whether to release more oil from their strategic stocks beyond the 63mn bl pledged earlier this month, US energy secretary Jennifer Granholm says.

"With respect to the emergency stockpiles… these are ongoing discussions and all those tools are certainly on the table," Graham said at the close of the IEA's ministerial meeting in Paris. To help counter possible disruption to Russian supply stemming from the conflict in Ukraine, the IEA announced a release from strategic oil reserves . It is only the fourth co-ordinated drawdown since the agency was founded in 1974, and the US accounts for about half of the 63mn bl pledged. A decision on whether to tap emergency stocks again will depend on how IEA members "read the markets", IEA executive director Fatih Birol said. "We see markets being very tight," he added, noting the recent disruption to exports of Kazakh crude from the Black Sea.

US oil producers are on track to increase output, Granholm said. The EIA's latest Short-Term Energy Outlook forecasts that US crude production will hit a record 13mn b/d in 2023, up from 12mn b/d this year.

On Europe reducing its dependence on Russian gas, Granholm deflected a question about a potential increase in US LNG supply. "I'm going to allow [President Joe Biden] to make that announcement and that will be soon," she said. Granholm acknowledged the challenge of balancing the transition to renewable energy with the need to increase oil and gas supply in the immediate future.