IEA board calls on members to raise oil and diesel output, stopping short of joint release
The call follows a March release of 400 million barrels and comes as the agency warns diesel supplies will stay tight into 2027.
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The IEA Governing Board has urged member nations with spare oil production and refining capacity to raise output, with particular emphasis on diesel.
In an October 11 letter, IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol pointed to renewed attacks on energy and civilian infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, including strikes on Riyadh's international airport, as part of the reasoning behind the call, according to Zawya and Reuters. Birol said, "As we did in March, I believe we can once again demonstrate the IEA's capacity to act together in support of energy security and economic stability," according to AOL.
That March action was the largest emergency release on record, 400 million barrels, of which 326 million barrels had been released as of Birol's October 11 letter, according to AOL. The new call comes after President Trump announced a diesel supply arrangement with Russia that temporarily eases US sanctions on Russian diesel, allowing imports until April 7, 2027, according to AOL. In its October oil market report, the IEA said global diesel supplies will stay severely constrained into 2027, with net diesel and gasoil exports from the Middle East and Russia down more than 60% year-on-year to 820,000 barrels a day, according to Arabian Post and AP News. Global refinery throughput is expected to hit a seasonal low of 81.3 million barrels a day in October before recovering to 84.6 million barrels a day by December, the IEA said.
The board's statement marks a step back from coordinated action toward a general call for members to raise output on their own, a softer approach than the roughly 100 million barrel accelerated release already underway since October 7. It shifts the burden to individual producing and refining countries rather than committing pooled reserves, and it singles out diesel again as the tighter segment, in keeping with Birol's repeated point that crude availability and diesel availability are separate problems. Crude oil remains under downward pressure as the accelerated releases continue, but diesel cracks stay the more exposed spread, since an encouragement to raise output carries none of the enforcement or timeline that the March collective action did.