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 ...
The International Energy Agency (IEA) may consider releasing more emergency oil supplies to address worsening supply disruptions in Europe amid a difficult winter. Europe has spent over €100 billion extra on energy imports since the Iran war began, but has received "not one extra molecule of gas or oil" due to disruption in the Strait of Hormuz.
The IEA has already released 400 million barrels of crude oil from its strategic reserves since March, with one-third yet to be released into the markets. IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol stated that while releasing further reserves is not the top priority, the agency is ready to act if member countries agree. Europe faces a particularly challenging winter due to its heavy reliance on imported diesel, with the US supplying around half of the EU's diesel imports in August.
The EU is considering the possibility of a US export ban on diesel, which could raise European wholesale diesel prices by 40% to 50% according to Oxford Economics.
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