The IEA is ready to release more oil to the market "when necessary" to lower oil prices

The IEA said its member states were ready to release more oil to the market "if necessary" in response to spikes in oil prices caused by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine
.

The International Energy Agency in Paris and the United States Secretary of Energy Jennifer Smith in Paris.
Jennifer Granholm said at a joint news conference that member countries, including the United States and its allies, are discussing further coordinated releases of oil inventories to counter rising oil prices
.

As of March 4, member countries pledged to release 61.
7 million barrels of oil reserves, exceeding the 60 million barrels pledged to stabilize energy markets
.
The United States will provide 30 million barrels, followed by Japan with 7.
5 million barrels, South Korea with 4.
4 million barrels, Germany with 3.
2 million barrels and the United Kingdom with 2.
2 million barrels
.

"Our member states and the secretariat are closely monitoring the market, and beyond the initial oil release, if our member states make a decision, we will act immediately and release more oil reserves to the market," said
Fatih Birol, executive director of the IEA.

Previous releases represented only 4 per cent
of the total stocks of its member countries, including 31 countries, he said.
Russia is not included
.

"If our country decides that it is necessary, we will act immediately to release a considerable amount of oil reserves
to the market.
"

Member states agreed that imports of oil and gas from Russia should be reduced "fundamentally," he said
.

"The policy is different, the measures are different, the timeline is different, but the goal is the same - to radically reduce Russian oil and gas imports
.
"

Oil prices retreated slightly after the remarks
.
Brent crude, the global benchmark for two-thirds of the world's oil, fell 2.
15 percent to $119 a barrel at 7:57 p.
m.
UAE time on Thursday, while West Texas Intermediate crude that tracks U.
S.
crude fell 1.
96 percent to $
112.
70 a barrel.

Ms.
Granholm also said that the release of emergency stockpiles was "under discussion" and that "all of these possibilities will definitely have to be taken
accordingly.
" ”

U.
S.
domestic supply will increase by 1 million barrels
per year after U.
S.
President Joe Biden called on oil companies to increase production to curb oil imports from Russia.

Russia is the world's second largest energy exporter
.
It accounts for 10% of the world's energy production, including 17% of natural gas and 12% of oil
.
It supplies about 40 percent of Europe's natural gas, while Russian crude accounts for 3 percent of U.
S.
oil imports, equivalent to about 200,000 barrels
per day.
The United States banned imports of Russian oil earlier this month, while the European Union is considering similar measures
.

Mr.
Birol also stressed on Thursday that countries should not stop addressing climate change
because of the current conflict.

"We must ensure that energy security should be an additional impetus
to achieve our clean energy goals.
We should not be victims of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict
.
”