The IEA said details will be released early next week. The IEA’s latest moves mark only the fifth time in the agency’s history that it has coordinated an emergency stockpile release.
In a statement, the IEA said energy ministers from its 31 member countries “have reiterated their concerns about the impact of Russia’s outrageous measures on energy security and expressed their support for sanctions imposed in response by the international community.”
IEA members are the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and Australia.
“The prospect of large-scale disruptions to Russian oil production threatens to trigger a global oil supply shock,” the IEA said in the statement, noting that Russia is currently the world’s third-largest oil producer and the world’s largest exporter.
After announcing a record release of 180 million barrels of oil, US President Joe Biden said Thursday other countries could release up to 30 million to 50 million barrels of oil. That would be in addition to the historic US release.
“The higher the number, the more likely prices will go down,” Biden told reporters.
In early March, the IEA announced the coordinated release of 60 million barrels from member states’ emergency reserves, including 30 million barrels from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
In addition to the reserve clearances, the IEA said its governing board recommends governments and consumers to “maintain and intensify energy conservation and energy conservation efforts.”
According to the IEA, Russia exports about 5 million barrels of crude oil per day, accounting for about 12% of world trade.