Germany, Austria say they’ll release reserve oil as part of effort to temper price spikes

BERLIN (AP) — Germany and Austria say they are releasing parts of their oil reserves following an International Energy Agency request for its members to release 400 million barrels to help temper energy price spikes due to the Iran war.

Japan also said it will release some of its reserves starting Monday.

The largest-ever previous collective release of emergency stocks by IEA member countries was 182.7 million barrels, in the wake of the energy shock prompted by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

IEA members currently hold over 1.2 billion barrels of public emergency oil stocks, with a further 600 million barrels of industry stocks held under government obligation.

In response to US and Israel strikes, Iran has attacked commercial ships across the Persian Gulf, escalating a campaign of squeezing the oil-rich region as global energy concerns mount. Iran has effectively stopped cargo traffic in the narrow Hormuz Strait through which about a fifth of all oil is shipped from the Persian Gulf toward the Indian Ocean.

It has also targeted oil fields and refineries in Gulf Arab nations, aiming at generating enough global economic pain to pressure the United States and Israel to end their strikes.

G7 energy ministers on Tuesday had announced they supported in principle “the implementation of proactive measures to address the situation, including the use of strategic reserves.”

According to the IEA, export volumes of crude and refined products are currently at less than 10% of pre-war levels.

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Petrequin reported from Paris.