IEA countries to release 120 mil barrels, US SPR contribution 60 mil barrels: Birol

International Energy Agency member countries have agreed to release 120 million barrels of oil from storage, which includes 60 million barrels from the US, as part of its overall draw from its strategic petroleum reserve, IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol tweeted April 6.

This comes after the US pledged to tap 180 million barrels of oil last week, effectively releasing 1 million b/d for six months from May, in a bid to alleviate market concerns over potential shortages from a drop in Russian oil exports.

"The IEA is moving ahead with a collective oil stock release of 120 million barrels (including 60 million barrels contributed by the US as part of its overall draw from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve)," said Birol, noting further details will come soon.

Supply concerns have gripped the market as sanctions and buyer aversion disrupts Russian oil supplies amid the Ukraine conflict. S&P Global Commodity Insights assumes that Russian oil exports (crude oil, products, and feedstocks) will fall by roughly 2.8 to 3 million b/d, from late April through December.