IEA oil stock release following Russia invasion tops 60 million barrels

FILE PHOTO: A pump jack is seen at sunrise near Bakersfield, California October 14, 2014. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

By Noah Browning

LONDON (Reuters) -Member states of the International Energy Agency have finalised their contributions to a 60 million barrel oil release announced this week to buoy prices sent soaring by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the IEA said on Friday.

From a total release of 61.7 million barrels, the United States will provide 30 million barrels followed by Japan with 7.5 million, South Korea with 4.4 million and Germany with 3.2 million.

The move aimed to compensate for supply disruptions as sanctions on parts of the Russian economy have caused many buyers to shun Russian oil.

Jittery markets were unconvinced by the news and instead jumped following the announcement on Tuesday and peaked Thursday near $120 a barrel. [O/R]

"In the last few days since the decision, each IEA member country has been considering how much it could contribute to the announced response plan, given its domestic circumstances," the Paris-based agency said in a statement.

"The commitments submitted by members actually surpassed 60 million barrels, demonstrating great solidarity."

The IEA represents 31 mostly industrialised nations but not Russia and has said it is open to further releases of oil from storage as needed.

Country Volume (in barrels)

Australia 1.692 million

Austria 387,000

Belgium 258,000

Estonia 36,000

Finland 377,000

France 1.5 million

Germany 3.215 million

Greece 303,000

Hungary 266,000

Ireland 222,000

Italy 2.041 million

Japan 7.5 million

Korea 4.42 million

Lithuania 115,000

Luxembourg 109,000

Netherlands 823,000

New Zealand 384,000

Norway 409,000

Poland 1.052 million

Spain 2 million

Sweden 551,000

Switzerland 350,000

Turkey 1.5 million

United States 30 million

Total IEA 61.71 million

(Reporting by Noah Browning; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

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