USDA: Thirty-One Nations Draw on Reserves to Release Millions of Barrels of Oil

The International Energy Agency (IEA) announced April 7 its 31 member countries, including the United States, will release 120 million barrels of oil from their emergency reserves over six months, in addition to the 63 million barrels they pledged last month.

The new commitments amount to the largest release in IEA’s history, according to the organization.

Half of the newly pledged amount — 60 million barrels — will come from the United States, as part of the larger release from its strategic petroleum reserve announced by the White House last week.

Over the next six months, around 240 million barrels of emergency oil stocks — amounting to well over 1 million barrels per day — will be made available to the global market.

IEA’s 31 member countries are in Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

The strategic releases are intended to stabilize energy prices that have soared since Russia invaded Ukraine.