G7 nations said on Monday they were prepared to implement “essential measures” in response to surging global oil prices but stopped wanting committing to release emergency reserves, despite crude prices briefly surpassing $119 a barrel because the U.S.-Israel war on Iran continues.
“We aren’t there yet,” French Finance Minister Roland Lescure told reporters in Brussels, after hosting a teleconference meeting of G7 finance ministers.
A final statement following the meeting said the ministers “will proceed to closely monitor the situation and developments within the energy markets and can meet as needed to exchange information and to coordinate inside the G7 and with international partners.”
“We stand able to take essential measures, including to support global supply of energy comparable to stockpile release,” it added.
Oil prices hit their highest levels since mid‑2022 on Monday, propelled by fears of prolonged shipping disruption and reduced output from some major producers wary of the conflict escalating. Nevertheless, the market reversed late within the day, with benchmarks falling below $90 a barrel, after President Donald Trump told CBS News that the war was “just about” complete.
Canada’s Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne told reporters in Ottawa there might be “further consultation,” including amongst G7 energy ministers, before any motion is taken.
“It’s very volatile,” he said. “I mean, what we’re all ensuring is that there could be a sufficient stock, obviously, to satisfy the demand. As you already know, there’s stock of oil on water, as they called it, there’s also discussion with respect to removing the choke point on the Strait of Hormuz.
“But what should reassure markets, should bring confidence, and will re-establish certainty is that the G7 is united, committed to work together, monitoring, such as you said, the market, monitoring the stock of oil and energy, and ensuring that we’re coordinated in our approach. That was really the end result of this morning.”
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A G7 official told Reuters there was “broad consensus” to not release reserves at this stage. “It was not that somebody was against, it’s nearly timing. More evaluation is required,” the official said, adding that a final decision would fall to G7 leaders.
Lescure, whose country holds the G7 presidency this 12 months, said there have been currently no supply problems in either Europe or the USA.
Western economies coordinate their strategic oil stockpiles through the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA), which was formed after the Seventies oil crisis.
“We stand able to take essential measures, including to support global supply of energy comparable to stockpile release,” the G7 finance ministers said in a joint statement.
European Economic Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said G7 finance ministers didn’t discuss specific market conditions that might be needed to trigger the discharge of strategic oil reserves, focusing only on the shared will to tap stockpiles if essential.
Dombrovskis said more discussions amongst G7 energy ministers a couple of response to the oil price surge would happen on Tuesday.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever have invited a gaggle of European leaders to debate competitiveness, including the problem of energy prices, in a videoconference on Tuesday.
BIGGEST COLLECTIVE RELEASE WAS IN 2022
IEA director Fatih Birol pushed for a release of reserves, said Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama. That country holds one among the world’s largest oil stockpiles.
IEA member countries are net oil importers who’re required to maintain a minimum of 90 days’ price of oil imports in stock.
The IEA coordinated the biggest collective release in its history in 2022when members freed greater than 180 million barrels of oil after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
IEA members hold greater than 1.2 billion barrels of public emergency oil stocks and an extra 600 million barrels of industry stocks are held under government obligation.
—With additional files from Global News