IEA Pushes to Accelerate Release of 100 Million Barrels of Oil Reserves, Prioritizing Diesel Supply

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 7, governments of International Energy Agency (IEA) member states agreed at a meeting to accelerate the implementation of the collective oil reserve release plan launched in March 2026, striving to complete the previously committed deliveries as soon as possible. Based on the outstanding reserve release commitments, approximately 100 million barrels of oil are still expected to enter the market. In response to the ongoing tightness in diesel supply, member states also agreed to prioritize the release of diesel reserves where conditions permit. The meeting focused on adjusting the execution pace of the existing release plan and did not announce an additional independent release quota of 100 million barrels.

On March 11 of this year, all 32 IEA member states unanimously agreed to make 400 million barrels of oil available to the market from emergency reserves in response to supply disruptions caused by the Middle East conflict. This was the largest collective reserve release in the agency's history. Under the arrangements set at that time, each member state determined its own delivery pace based on its national circumstances, and the releases included both crude oil and petroleum products. According to execution data published by the IEA on October 7, member states have released a cumulative total of approximately 325 million barrels, with some countries actually releasing more than their initial commitments.

Diesel supply became the focus of this accelerated implementation plan. On October 2, IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol, speaking at the G7 leaders' energy security meeting, noted that Middle East crude oil exports had clearly recovered, but refined product shipments remained severely constrained, and Ukraine's attacks on Russian refineries had further exacerbated the diesel supply crunch. G7 leaders subsequently asked the IEA to continue advancing the relevant work.

Regarding future reserve arrangements, IEA member states currently still hold approximately 1.1 billion barrels of public emergency oil reserves, including more than 200 million barrels of diesel reserves. The IEA stated that these reserves could be further tapped if market supply conditions require it. The Secretariat will continue to coordinate with member state governments, track progress in fulfilling the March commitments, and provide the latest market analysis. Member states will reassess the energy market situation and reserve release arrangements at the IEA Governing Board meeting next week.