G7 nations said on Monday they were prepared to implement “necessary measures” in response to surging global oil prices but stopped short of committing to release emergency reserves, despite crude prices briefly surpassing $119 a barrel as the U.S.-Israel war on Iran continues.
“We are not 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 continue to closely monitor the situation and developments in the energy markets and will meet as needed to exchange information and to coordinate within the G7 and with international partners.”
“We stand ready to take necessary measures, including to support global supply of energy such as 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. However, the market reversed late in the day, with benchmarks falling below $90 a barrel, after President Donald Trump told CBS News that the war was “pretty much” complete.
Canada’s Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne told reporters in Ottawa there will be “further consultation,” including among G7 energy ministers, before any action is taken.
“It’s very volatile,” he said. “I mean, what we’re all ensuring is that there would be a sufficient stock, obviously, to meet the demand. As you know, there’s stock of oil on water, as they called it, there is also discussion with respect to removing the choke point on the Strait of Hormuz.
“But what should reassure markets, should bring confidence, and should re-establish certainty is that the G7 is united, committed to work together, monitoring, like you said, the market, monitoring the stock of oil and energy, and ensuring that we are coordinated in our approach. That was really the outcome of this morning.”
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A G7 official told Reuters there was “broad consensus” not to release reserves at this stage. “It was not that someone was against, it’s just about timing. More analysis is needed,” the official said, adding that a final decision would fall to G7 leaders.
Lescure, whose country holds the G7 presidency this year, said there were currently no supply problems in either Europe or the United States.
Western economies coordinate their strategic oil stockpiles through the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA), which was formed after the 1970s oil crisis.
“We stand ready to take necessary measures, including to support global supply of energy such as stockpile release,” the G7 finance ministers said in a joint statement.
European Economic Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said G7 finance ministers did not discuss specific market conditions that would be needed to trigger the release of strategic oil reserves, focusing only on the shared will to tap stockpiles if necessary.
Dombrovskis said more discussions among G7 energy ministers about a response to the oil price surge would take place on Tuesday.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever have invited a group of European leaders to discuss competitiveness, including the issue 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 of the world’s largest oil stockpiles.
IEA member countries are net oil importers who are required to keep at least 90 days’ worth of oil imports in stock.
The IEA coordinated the largest collective release in its history in 2022when members freed more than 180 million barrels of oil after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
IEA members hold more than 1.2 billion barrels of public emergency oil stocks and a further 600 million barrels of industry stocks are held under government obligation.
—With additional files from Global News
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