G7 Discusses Oil Reserve Release as Prices Soar

JAKARTA - Energy ministers from the G7 group will meet virtually on Tuesday (10/3) evening to discuss the possibility of releasing oil reserves in a coordinated manner amid a spike in oil prices, said Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama.

The plan comes after G7 finance ministers said they were "ready" to take the necessary steps after an online meeting on Monday, including supporting global energy supplies through the release of reserves.

"If we are going to do that, we have to do it in the most effective way, and there are still questions about when, where, and how to coordinate it as a whole, including whether to divide (release) gradually, and so on," Katayama told reporters, Tuesday, March 10. reported by ANTARA from Kyodo.

"I think in the future there will also be involvement from the leaders [of the G7]," he said.

Crude oil futures rose above $119 per barrel on Sunday, their highest level since June 2022, amid concerns that conflict in the Middle East would disrupt supplies.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) requires its member countries to keep oil reserves to maintain energy supply stability. IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol also joined the G7 finance ministers' talks on Monday.

According to the IEA, its member countries together hold more than 1.2 billion barrels of public emergency oil reserves. Of that amount, the United States and Japan hold about 700 million barrels.

In 2022, the agency coordinated the release of oil reserves to maintain market stability after Russia launched a massive invasion of Ukraine.

The G7 or Group of Seven is an intergovernmental forum consisting of seven advanced economies - Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States - plus the European Union as a non-enumerated member.