Governments of the International Energy Agency (IEA) member countries have supported accelerating the release of emergency oil reserves (400 million barrels – ed.) announced within the Joint Action Framework adopted in March, as quickly as possible.
elchi reports that IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol stated this in a statement regarding the meeting held with the governments of IEA member countries on October 7, 2026.
According to him, IEA members also supported prioritizing the release of diesel reserves to the market as much as possible amidst the current tightness in the diesel market.
Meeting participants highly appreciated the measures taken by the IEA against the impact of the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz on energy markets. They emphasized their commitment to fulfilling the obligations undertaken within the Joint Action Framework adopted in March and noted the importance of the IEA Secretariat’s role in monitoring the implementation of the measure and updating market analyses.
Furthermore, participants welcomed the recent statement by G7 leaders on energy security and market stability. The statement also emphasized the importance of the free flow of energy trade.
According to Fatih Birol, approximately 325 million barrels of oil have been released to the market so far within the Joint Action Framework adopted in March 2026. Some countries have released more oil reserves than their initial commitments.
He noted that the full release of all reserves committed within the Joint Action Framework adopted in March but not yet released to the market could bring approximately 100 million barrels of oil to the market.
Currently, the state-owned emergency oil reserves of IEA member countries amount to approximately 1.1 billion barrels. More than 200 million barrels of this are diesel reserves.
“The IEA is ready to release a larger portion of these reserves to the market if the need arises,” said Fatih Birol.
The IEA Secretariat will continue to cooperate with member country governments to monitor the implementation of the Joint Action adopted in March.