IEA to hold extraordinary oil market meeting on 1 April

IEA to hold extraordinary oil market meeting on 1 April

London, 31 March (Argus) — IEA member countries will hold an extraordinary meeting on 1 April to discuss a potential response to the recent volatility in oil markets.

"Tomorrow, IEA governments are coming together in an extraordinary meeting," IEA executive director Fatih Birol said on a New York Times energy podcast. "We are going to discuss what kind of steps we can take in order to provide stability to the oil markets."

Birol did not specify whether a further release of oil from strategic stocks might be on the table. The IEA announced at the start of March that it would co-ordinate a release of over 60mn bl of oil from members' strategic stocks, around half of it from the US, in only its fourth ever drawdown since its foundation in 1974.

The US announced today that it intends to release an additional 180mn bl of crude from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) over the next six months, in a bid to soften gasoline prices at the pump until domestic oil production increases. President Joe Biden said it is his "guess" that an extra 30mn-50mn bl will also be released from stocks by US allies, although he did not specify which countries nor