IEA Members Commit to Releasing Remaining 100 Million Barrels Including 20 Million of Diesel

The International Energy Agency's Governing Board announced on Thursday that approximately 330 million barrels have been released so far from the strategic reserve intervention agreed in March, and members have committed to completing the remaining roughly 100 million barrels in a timely manner. The board also agreed to accelerate the release of those remaining volumes, with specific plans already in place to release over 20 million barrels of diesel as soon as possible.

The total amount of stocks released will ultimately exceed the original 400 million barrel target set in March, as some IEA members have already released higher volumes than initially pledged and others intend to do so. However, the precise amount by which total releases will exceed 400 million barrels was not quantified in the board's statement.

The United States had separately requested an additional 100 million barrels beyond the original March commitment, but the communique stopped short of explicitly endorsing that figure, offering instead the unquantified pledge to surpass the original total. The board also encouraged IEA members holding oil production and refining capacity to boost supply of crude and refined products, particularly diesel, and underlined the importance of the free flow of energy trade.