In a statement sent to Rigzone late Wednesday by the International Energy Agency (IEA), IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol revealed that, in a meeting this week, IEA member governments “expressed support for accelerating the oil stock releases announced in the Collective Action of March 2026, with a view to completing them as soon as possible”.
A statement posted on the IEA’s website on March 11 announced that the 32 member countries of the organization unanimously agreed to make 400 million barrels of oil from their emergency reserves available to the market “to address disruptions in oil markets stemming from the war in the Middle East”.
Birol highlighted in the IEA’s latest statement that, at the IEA meeting this week, IEA members also supported the “prioritization of the release of diesel stocks, to the extent possible, given the current tightness in diesel markets”.
“Participants in the meeting expressed strong appreciation for the IEA’s response to the energy impacts of the Strait of Hormuz crisis,” Birol noted.
“They emphasized their commitment to delivering on the March 2026 Collective Action and the importance of the IEA Secretariat’s role in continuing to monitor progress towards the completion of the action and providing up to date market analysis,” he added.
Birol also said participants welcomed the recent statement by G7 Leaders on global energy security and market stability, “including its emphasis on the importance of free flow of energy trade”.
G7 Leaders Statement
A G7 leaders’ statement published on the websites of the European Union and the President of France on October 2 revealed that the leaders of the G7 had convened a virtual meeting “to address the deepening challenges to our energy security”.
“Facing unprecedented volatility in oil markets – with surging prices threatening economic stability and the well-being of our citizens – we have agreed on decisive, coordinated measures to stabilize immediate energy supplies, shield households and businesses from price shocks, and strengthen the long-term resilience of global energy systems,” the statement said.
“We will coordinate maintenance schedules across G7 refineries to prevent simultaneous capacity shutdowns and temporarily increase utilization rates where feasible. We also encourage engagement with countries holding significant refining capacities to boost global production of refined products, particularly diesel, in light of ongoing market pressures in this segment,” it added.
“The G7 requests the IEA to monitor the immediate and full implementation of the March 2026 commitments. In this regard, taking into account commitments that have already been fulfilled, we will implement our commitments with a coordinated release through the IEA of 100 million barrels to begin immediately over four months, including a frontloaded substantial diesel release within the first 20 days by G7 members and partners,” it continued.
“We will convene in the context of the IEA in the coming days to discuss the possibility of additional diesel releases as necessary,” it went on to state.
325 Million Barrels Released
In the IEA’s latest statement, Birol revealed that, to date, approximately 325 million barrels of oil have been released under the March 2026 Collective Action, “with some countries having released greater volumes than they initially pledged”.
“The full release of all the stocks that had been pledged but have not yet been released from the March 2026 Collective Action would bring approximately 100 million barrels to the market,” Birol highlighted.
Birol said IEA member governments still have “significant levels of publicly held emergency oil stocks – equivalent to around 1.1 billion barrels, including over 200 million barrels of diesel”.
He added that the IEA “stands ready to release more of these stocks to the market if and when required”.
“The IEA Secretariat will continue to work closely with member governments to monitor the ongoing implementation of the March 2026 Collective Action,” Birol went on to state.
“IEA member governments agreed to continue to assess and review the situation at the next scheduled meeting of the IEA Governing Board, which will take place next week,” he continued.
Bought Time, Not Barrels
In a report sent to Rigzone this week by the Standard Chartered team, Standard Chartered Bank Energy Research Head Emily Ashford said the G7 policy intervention has bought time, rather than barrels.
“On 2 October, G7 leaders announced a coordinated release of 100 million barrels of emergency oil stocks through the IEA, beginning immediately and to be completed over four months,” Ashford noted.
“Crucially, this is not a new emergency action, but an acceleration of the original 400 million barrel release announced in March,” Ashford added.
“The precise split between crude and diesel has not been disclosed, but the text of the announcement requests a ‘front-loaded substantial diesel release within the first 20 days’,” Ashford highlighted.
The Standard Chartered Bank Energy Research Head outlined in the report that the market’s “muted reaction” was “likely because these are not new barrels and there is no change in the total volume of barrels being released from emergency reserves”.
“What is new is the urgency with which governments want the remaining commitments to be delivered,” Ashford pointed out.
Underappreciated Signal
In the Standard Chartered report, Ashford noted that, “arguably the most important, and potentially underappreciated, signal” in the G7 communiqué was “the commitment by members to refrain from restricting exports of energy and energy products to one another”.
“The threat of a U.S. diesel export ban had become a credible policy risk,” Ashford highlighted.
Ashford warned in the report, however, that “one important caveat remains” with regards to the G7 commitment.
“This is a political commitment and not a legal prohibition, and it applies only between members,” Ashford pointed out.
“An export ban remains possible, but the probability has materially fallen. There is still some theoretical policy room around exports to non-G7 destinations, with Mexico, Chile, Brazil and non-G7 Europe still at risk,” Ashford said.
“Policy makers appear to have recognized that, in this case, keeping existing trade flows open is more valuable than attempting to redistribute scarcity through export restrictions,” Ashford continued.
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