31 members of the International Energy Agency (IEA), including Australia, agreed to collectively release 60 million barrels of oil from their emergency reserves to send a strong and unified message of the unacceptable risk Russia is creating on global energy security.
Angus Taylor, Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction joined a meeting of ministers from IEA member countries to discuss the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the actions needed to ensure that the global market needs are met.
Releasing additional stocks to the market through globally coordinated action will increase supply, with the aim to avoid a shortfall and ultimately lower petrol prices. These releases aim to address any actual or potential shortfall of oil and help stabilize prices.
The Australian Government has taken action through its comprehensive fuel security package to secure Australia’s refining capacity until at least mid-2027 and has committed $260 million to build more domestic storage to support a 40 per cent increase in local diesel. As part of this package, they also took advantage of historically low oil prices and stored around 1.7 million barrels of oil in the United States Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
The volume of oil stocks to be released as part of Australia’s contribution to the IEA collective action will be decided and announced in the coming days.
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