Japan supports a possible coordinated release of oil reserves by International Energy Agency member countries, industry minister Ryosei Akazawa said Tuesday, as the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran has triggered concerns over energy supply and led to a spike in oil prices.
Japan, which heavily relies on the Middle East for crude oil imports, believes such a release is “an effective tool toward stabilizing global markets,” the minister said ahead of a virtual meeting of energy ministers of the Group of Seven industrialized nations, which he attended.
The G7 energy ministers confirmed that they stand ready to take necessary measures, such as drawing down stockpiles, to support global energy supply, Akazawa said later in the day.
IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol, who joined the discussions, said in a statement that an extraordinary meeting of IEA member governments will take place soon to “assess the current security of supply and market conditions to inform a subsequent decision on whether to make emergency stocks of IEA countries available to the market.”
The energy ministerial talks involving the G7 members — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, plus the European Union — followed a virtual meeting on Monday of the group’s finance ministers, during which they discussed a possible coordinated release of oil reserves.
