America’s allies join Biden in releasing emergency oil reserves to lower energy prices

The Paris-based International Energy Agency on Friday said the multinational group would coordinate the release of oil from emergency reserves around the globe to try to dampen high energy prices.

The announcement came one day after President Biden authorized the release of one million barrels of oil per day for the next six months from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as Americans suffer record-high prices at the pump. That would equate to roughly 180 million barrels in total.

The agreement was reached during a special meeting of the IEA Governing Board that is chaired by U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. 

The IEA, which is a global energy authority of 31 countries, did not specify how much oil other countries plan to release and said further details will be provided next week. 

The agreement marks the second coordinated effort in as many months to blunt a volatile global energy market that has been exacerbated by Russia’s war in Ukraine. Last month’s agreement totaled the release of 62.7 million barrels, roughly 30 million of which were from the U.S.

The IEA’s global stockpile stands at 1.5 billion barrels, according to the agency. Daily global oil consumption is approximately 105 million barrels per day, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The war has roiled energy markets across the globe due to Russia ranking as the world’s third-largest oil producer and the largest exporter. Many European countries, which are largely dependent on Russian energy, are now working to wean off it. 

Mr. Biden also banned Russian imports of oil, natural gas and coal last month.

Mr. Biden’s massive release from the U.S. oil reserves would be more than one-third of the stockpile and would be the largest drawdown ever. The plan was met with skepticism from Republicans, energy experts and some Democrats that it would do much to ease Americans’ pain at the pump.

Republicans labeled it a “political gimmick.” 

Analysts said that it would be a drop in the bucket compared to the 20 million barrels America uses each day and Democrats questioned whether any savings would be passed from oil companies to consumers.