Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), expressed readiness on Wednesday to release additional oil reserves if required.
اضافة اعلان
Birol’s remarks in Tokyo followed a request from Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who urged the agency to "prepare for further releases if the current situation persists" due to the ongoing war in the Middle East.
Earlier this month, the IEA announced that its member states would release 400 million barrels of oil from their stockpiles to mitigate the war's impact—the largest operation of its kind in history. However, Birol noted: "Significant quantities of oil remain in our stocks... we still hold 80% of our reserves. Those 400 million barrels represented only 20% of our total holdings."
He added, "If and when necessary, we are ready to move forward with further releases, though I sincerely hope it will not be required." Birol emphasized that while the world faces a "grave threat to energy security," the IEA is prepared to fulfill its primary role in safeguarding global energy security.
Japan’s Energy Position
Japan relies on the Middle East for 95% of its oil imports. Last week, the country began releasing private-sector reserves sufficient for 15 days and will start drawing from government stockpiles starting Thursday.
Prime Minister Takaichi also mentioned that Tokyo intends to release quantities from stocks held by producing nations within Japan by the end of the month. According to the Petroleum Association of Japan, joint reserves are maintained in Japan by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Kuwait.
Under normal circumstances, this jointly stored crude is used for commercial purposes. However, in an emergency, Japanese oil companies hold preferential purchasing rights.
AFP
