The G7 countries have declared they are ready to do what it takes to help the world’s energy supply after the US-Israel confrontation with Iran caused oil prices to rise. But the G7 finance ministers and the International Energy Agency (IEA) did not reach an agreement to release strategic crude stocks during their meeting.
On Monday, the price of oil rose to almost $120 a barrel amid concerns about a long-term disruption to supplies. This caused stock markets around the world to collapse. Fatih Birol, chairman of the IEA, stated at the virtual conference that global oil markets “have deteriorated in recent days.” One of the options addressed was releasing oil from stocks.
Birol added, “There are problems with getting oil through the Strait of Hormuz, and a lot of oil production has been cut back.” This is making the market far more risky and dangerous. IEA member countries presently have more than 1.2 billion barrels of public emergency oil stocks and are required by law to keep 600 million barrels of industry stocks.
After the meeting, French finance minister Roland Lescure replied, “We’re not there yet,” when asked if emergency stocks would be released. It would be the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 that reserves were released.
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