The International Energy Agency is ready to go if a further release of oil from members' emergency oil reserves is needed, the agency's top official said on Tuesday.
The IEA decided last week to accelerate the release of oil remaining from a record emergency reserves release pledged in March, including more than 20 million barrels of diesel as soon as possible to boost supply and cool soaring prices.
"If it is needed...and if our countries consider it’s time to push the button, as the International Energy Agency, we are ready to go,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said at a conference in London organized by the Financial Times, when asked about the prospect of an additional release.
The timeline for the release of 20 million barrels of diesel depends on individual countries, he said, without giving a specific timeframe.
"How much is released and when depends on the countries, depends on the situation of winter markets," Birol said.
War in Iran and conflict in Ukraine have disrupted oil supplies, sending diesel prices to record highs in many markets and turning the fuel that underpins trucking, agriculture and industry into a political and economic concern.
"We’re trying to front-load those diesel deliveries,” Birol added.
Brent crude oil rose to more than $111 a barrel on Tuesday, a five-month high. European benchmark diesel futures were trading at $1482.25 per metric ton, up almost 4% since the IEA’s decision on Thursday.
The IEA coordinates industrialized nations' releases of oil from emergency stocks. In March, countries had pledged to release more than 400 million barrels of crude and oil products as prices soared.
Members have so far released 80% of the 400 million barrels, Birol said.
