IEA will release 60 million barrels of oil to avoid shortfall due to Russia's invasion

The 31 member countries of the governing board of the International Energy Agency have agreed to release 60 million barrels of oil from their emergency reserves to ensure no shortfall in supplies as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the agency said on Tuesday.

“I am pleased that the IEA has also come together today to take action. The situation in energy markets is very serious and demands our full attention. Global energy security is under threat, putting the world economy at risk during a fragile stage of the recovery," said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol in a statement.

IEA members hold emergency stockpiles of 1.5 billion barrels. They will release 4 percent of those stockpiles which is equivalent to 2 million barrels a day for 30 days.

This the fourth time in the history of the IEA, to have such collective actions. Previous ones were taken in 2011, 2005 and 1991.

Russia exports of about 5 million barrels a day of crude oil which represents roughly 12 percent of global trade. Around 60 percent of the Russian oil exports go to Europe and another 20 percent to China. The ongoing military operation has caused price market to rise to levels that hasn't been seen since 2014.