IEA to Speed Up Oil Stock Releases as Diesel Crisis Bites
The International Energy Agency agreed on Wednesday to speed up emergency oil stock releases and give diesel priority as record fuel prices and supply disruptions from the Iran war rattle markets.
IEA members said they would complete the releases announced under the March 2026 collective action as soon as possible. About 100 million barrels of the 400 million pledged then have yet to reach the market.
The acute crisis is in diesel. US retail diesel hit a record $6.53 a gallon on September 22, and diesel exports from Russia, the Middle East and Asia were running 1.3 million barrels a day lower than a year earlier in August.
The move followed a G7 agreement on October 2 to release 100 million barrels of crude and diesel through the IEA. France moved first, saying it would release 10 million barrels of diesel from strategic reserves.
Europe is the tightest market, dependent on Russian and Middle Eastern diesel curtailed by two wars. The IEA said members still hold 1.1 billion barrels of emergency stocks and stood ready to release more if needed.
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