Oil releases from IEA emergency stocks to pick up through February, agency says

LONDON: The International Energy Agency's member countries will release around 71 million barrels of emergency oil and products stocks through end-February 2027, roughly doubling the pace of the releases in September and October, the agency said on Friday.

Included in the release will be around 15 million barrels of diesel which are scheduled to be released by end-February, almost entirely from government stocks in France and Germany, at a pace of 4 million to 5 million barrels in January before easing in February, the IEA said in a monthly report.

The move by the IEA, which manages industrialised countries' strategic oil inventories for use in severe oil shocks, is part of a record stocks release first announced in March after the Iran war cut supplies from the Middle East, sending prices soaring.


Emergency oil stock releases in Europe are expected to total 33 million barrels, led by Germany and France, and around 37 million barrels is due to come from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Government stocks account for at least 85% of all scheduled volumes.

The price of diesel, which powers transport, agriculture and industry, is still close to record highs in many markets, threatening to push inflation and the cost of living higher and adding to pressure on governments. Europe holds significant emergency diesel inventories and remains a net importer of the fuel.

In March, the IEA announced a strategic release of stocks of up to 400 million barrels to make up for the disruption to the oil market caused by the Iran war. Since then, member countries have put out 349 million barrels of emergency stocks, the IEA said.

"If current schedules are met, total emergency stocks released by IEA countries would reach around 420 million barrels, exceeding the 400 million barrels committed for release in March," the report said.