IEA says emergency oil stocks could be tapped again if needed

The 32 member countries of the International Energy Agency could release more oil from emergency stockpiles if necessary, on top of 400 million barrels announced last week. That was the message Monday from IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.

Birol said last week’s release was a “buffer for now” that had helped restrain the increase in oil prices. But he added there are “a lot of stocks left despite this huge release.”

That means “we can do more later, as and if needed.”

Birol says members have a further 1.4 billion barrels in reserves or industry stocks that governments could access.

The IEA head says the single most important factor for a return to stable flows of oil and gas would be a resumption of tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

Before the Iran war, the global economy consumed about 101 million barrels of oil a day. Brent crude is trading at over $100 a barrel.

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