By Noah Browning
LONDON (Reuters) -Member states of the International Energy Agency have finalised their contributions to a 60 million barrel oil release announced this week to buoy prices sent soaring by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the IEA said on Friday.
From a total release of 61.7 million barrels, the United States will provide 30 million barrels followed by Japan with 7.5 million, South Korea with 4.4 million and Germany with 3.2 million.
The move aimed to compensate for supply disruptions as sanctions on parts of the Russian economy have caused many buyers to shun Russian oil.
Jittery markets were unconvinced by the news and instead jumped following the announcement on Tuesday and peaked Thursday near $120 a barrel. [O/R]
“In the last few days since the decision, each IEA member country has been considering how much it could contribute to the announced response plan, given its domestic circumstances,” the Paris-based agency said in a statement.
“The commitments submitted by members actually surpassed 60 million barrels, demonstrating great solidarity.”
The IEA represents 31 mostly industrialised nations but not Russia and has said it is open to further releases of oil from storage as needed.
Country Volume (in barrels)
Australia 1.692 million
Austria 387,000
Belgium 258,000
Estonia 36,000
Finland 377,000
France 1.5 million
Germany 3.215 million
Greece 303,000
Hungary 266,000
Ireland 222,000
Italy 2.041 million
Japan 7.5 million
Korea 4.42 million
Lithuania 115,000
Luxembourg 109,000
Netherlands 823,000
New Zealand 384,000
Norway 409,000
Poland 1.052 million
Spain 2 million
Sweden 551,000
Switzerland 350,000
Turkey 1.5 million
United States 30 million
Total IEA 61.71 million
(Reporting by Noah Browning; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
