IEA confirms member country contributions to second collective action to release oil stocks in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Following an agreement on 1 April by IEA member countries for a new emergency release of oil stocks, the IEA Governing Board confirmed today that the total amount committed to date stands at 120 million barrels, making it the largest stock release in IEA history.

The unanimous agreement among IEA member countries on 1 April for a second collective action this year came in response to the significant strains in oil markets resulting from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In the days since the decision, each IEA member country has been considering how much it could contribute to the announced response plan, given its domestic circumstances.

The commitments submitted by members reached 120 million barrels to be released over a six month period, demonstrating strong unity. The United States will contribute about 60 million barrels, which are part of the larger drawdown from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) that was announced on 31 March.

Over the next six months, around 240 million barrels of emergency oil stocks, the equivalent of well over 1 million barrels per day, will be made available to the global market.

“The unprecedented decision to launch two emergency oil stock releases just a month apart, and on a scale larger than anything before in the IEA’s history, reflects the determination of member countries to protect the global economy from the social and economic impacts of an oil shock following Russia’s aggression against Ukraine,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. “This latest collective action once again demonstrates the unity of IEA member countries in their solidarity with Ukraine and their determination to provide stability to the oil market during this challenging time. Events in Ukraine are becoming more distressing by the day, and action by the IEA at this time is needed to relieve some of the strains in energy markets.”

At the start of Russia’s invasion, IEA member countries held 1.5 billion barrels in public reserves and about 575 million barrels under obligations with industry. Therefore, the two IEA collective actions this year of 62.7 million barrels, which was agreed on 1 March, and 120 million barrels amount to 9% of total emergency reserves.

Emergency oil stocks in IEA member countries are either in the form of public stocks (government-owned or by specialised agencies), or stocks held by industry under an obligation of the government. In the case of public stocks, these can be released via tenders or loans to the market, which will be launched and released over the coming weeks and months, depending on the specific stockholding system and market needs in each country. In the case of obligated industry stocks, obligations will be lowered, via legislative decrees or administrative mandates, to make the volumes available for consumption.

The following table shows the breakdown of the oil to be made available by each of the participating countries. More details will be made available in due course on the breakdown of the pledged barrels in crude and products, and public and obligated industry stocks.