IEA could consider more oil reserve releases as Europe faces tough winter

The IEA says it could consider releasing more emergency oil stocks if supply disruptions worsen, although another release is not currently its top priority. Europe faces a difficult winter after spending more than €100bn extra on energy imports since the Iran war began.

The IEA has hinted that releasing further strategic oil reserves could be an option to ease supply shortages.

Speaking at a meeting of EU energy ministers in Dublin, International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol said that the agency has released 400 million barrels of crude oil from its strategic reserves since March and that one-third of that has yet to “come to the markets”.

The released stocks are equivalent to "20% of the overall stocks", Birol said, adding that "80% is still in our pocket. If there is a need and if our member countries do agree with it, we are ready to act in order to address current and future market challenges_."_

He also added that currently, "it is not the number one agenda for the IEA".

His comments came as EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen talked on Tuesday about the extra costs Europe has been facing since the start of the war in Iran. He said that European Union countries have spent more than €100 billion extra on energy imports since the outbreak of the war in Iran. Despite that additional spending, they have received “not one extra molecule of gas or oil”.

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