IEA members agree another oil stocks release

IEA member countries today agreed to release more oil from their strategic stocks in response to the "market turmoil" created by the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The Paris-based energy watchdog said it will disclose the details of the new withdrawal "early next week".

It marks the IEA's fifth co-ordinated strategic stocks release since the agency was founded in 1974 and comes against a backdrop of high and volatile oil prices. The fourth — comprising 62.7mn bl — was announced on 1 March, with the US accounting for around half of that. IEA member countries hold a combined 1.5bn bl emergency oil stocks.

Yesterday US president Joe Biden ordered the release of an additional 180mn bl from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) over six months. Today the president said over 30 countries will be joining the US in a fresh emergency stocks release. "I co-ordinated this release with partners and allies around the world," Biden said. "Hundreds of hours of meeting with key allies keeping them together is paying off."

At an extraordinary meeting today, ministers of IEA member countries expressed their concerns about the energy security impacts of the conflict in Ukraine and noted "particular difficulties" in the diesel market. The conflict "continues to put significant strains on global oil markets, resulting in heightened price volatility", the IEA said. "This is taking place against a backdrop of commercial inventories that are at their lowest level since 2014 and a limited ability of oil producers to provide additional supply in the short term."

The new emergency stocks release comes as Opec+ continues to resist calls to boost output beyond its agreed targets. Yesterday the group agreed to raise its collective crude output quota by a further 432,000 b/d in May, in line with a roadmap agreed last year.

By Ruxandra Iordache and Haik Gugarats