IEA Urges More Diesel Releases as Global Market Tightens

The International Energy Agency urged members to speed up pledged diesel releases and consider supplying more as global markets tighten.

IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol urged governments that have yet to fully deliver oil stocks promised under the March collective action to accelerate those releases where possible, with priority given to diesel, according to a statement ahead of the agency’s Oct. 15 governing board meeting.

Birol also encouraged all members — including those that have already completed their pledged releases — to assess whether further diesel releases are needed, and set out their scale and timing.

“Current market conditions merit immediate attention and can best be managed through continued cooperation among IEA members,” said Birol. Collective action is necessary to support energy security and economic stability, he said, citing the renewed attacks on civilian and energy infrastructure in oil-rich Saudi Arabia.

After the Trump administration threatened European countries with a diesel export ban if they didn’t do more to quell record prices, the Group of Seven nations reached a deal earlier this month for an emergency release of as much as 100 million barrels of diesel and crude stocks. European Union countries, however, were in broad agreement that the G7 deal would in fact just enact the March commitments rather than requiring additional volumes.

The IEA has 32 members, including the US and many European nations. In March, the organization agreed to discharge 400 million barrels from emergency oil reserves, its largest-ever release, in response to the Iran war.