G-7 Leaders Welcome IEA Decision on Coordinated Oil Release

Washington/Berlin, March 11 (Jiji Press)–The leaders from the Group of Seven major countries on Wednesday welcomed an agreement reached by member countries of the International Energy Agency to release 400 million barrels of oil from their reserves to curb soaring crude oil prices. This is a significant volume intended to send a clear message to the market, according to a statement issued by France, which holds this year’s G-7 presidency. The amount is the largest ever emergency distribution of oil by members of the IEA, made up of major oil consumers including Japan, the United States and European countries. At their online meeting Wednesday, the G-7 leaders confirmed the importance of cooperation among the G-7 countries to stabilize energy supply and demand, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on X, formerly known as Twitter. Japan will release about 80 million barrels, accounting for 20 pct of the total reserves to be released by the IEA members. The United States will release 172 million barrels starting next week. Germany, Britain and others are also aligning their actions. It is the first coordinated release in about four years since March and April 2022, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It is the sixth such release and exceeds more than twice the volume of the previous largest distribution in 2022. The IEA said that some member countries plan to take additional measures. “The oil market challenges we are facing are unprecedented in scale,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said. Meanwhile, the G-7 leaders also agreed to work together to ensure the safety of maritime transport and to consider the possibility of escorting ships as attacks on ships continue in the Middle East. The conflict between U.S. and Israeli forces and Iran has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, which handles 20 pct of global crude oil shipments, causing oil prices to surge. The G-7 statement stressed that this is a concrete response to people’s concerns about gasoline prices. The G-7 leaders also reaffirmed the continuation of sanctions against Russia. But U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has said it will allow India to buy Russian oil for a limited period of 30 days, signaling a willingness to ease sanctions further to help lower oil prices. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]