About a sixth of the strategic oil reserves of the member states of the International Energy Agency have been sold since March. The government of Donald Trump obtained satisfaction on Friday, having been asking European states for several days to release more diesel. Explanation of these stocks created in anticipation of crises.

Published on: 03/10/2026 - 17:32

• Store to “mitigate negative economic impacts”

The planet consumes around 100 million barrels of black gold every day, used in particular in transport and the plastics industry.

States, especially those that do not produce oil, are striving to build up a safety cushion to “mitigate the negative economic impacts” of shortages or disruptions in supply, explains the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Destocking can reassure the markets and lower crude prices.

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• “More than 1.2 billion barrels” theoretically in reserve

Created in 1974 after the first oil crisis (October 1973), the International Energy Agency's founding mission is to ensure energy security. It has 32 member countries – including Germany, France, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Turkey and the United States.

Everyone has “the obligation to hold oil stocks equivalent to at least 90 days of net imports” and this, in the form of reserves planned only for emergency situations, commercial stocks that can be mobilized by the State, or kept in other countries through agreements.

On March 11, the IEA decided on a historic destocking of 400 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves, with the hope of mitigating the consequences of the war in the Middle East. It was the sixth in the history of the IEA and the largest ever undertaken.

As of Friday, October 2, 325 million of these barrels had been released, according to the IEA. This represents 18% of the “more than 1.2 billion barrels” held by states and 600 million barrels stored by the industry, by government obligation, as of March 11. “The G7 calls on the IEA to ensure the immediate and full implementation of the commitments made in March 2026,” the G7 members said in a press release on Friday.

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• Crude, refined, jet fuel... Heterogeneous stocks

The IEA stockholding requirement does not specify whether these stocks must be held in the form of crude or refined oil (e.g. diesel or fuel oil).

“The most appropriate choice will depend on country-specific factors,” the IEA says. She says countries with a large refining industry are more likely to conserve crude, being able to process it quickly. This “allows more flexibility.”

But even for these countries, it is "judicious" to keep at least part of the emergency stocks in refined form, despite "higher costs", adds the agency. For members of the IEA and the European Union, there is an obligation that a third of stocks be “held in the form of specific refined products”.

In 2024, according to a document from the Société Anonyme de Gestion des Stocks de Sécurité (Sagess), which owns around two thirds of French physical stocks, 30.6% of reserves were crude oil and 49.8% diesel. The remainder was gasoline (9.1%), jet fuel for aircraft engines (7.8%), and heating oil (2.7%).

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• Stocks that can be released in 24 hours in France

“Once the need for collective action by the IEA has been agreed, each member country contributes in proportion to the weight it represents in the total oil consumption of the organization's members,” explains the IEA. The concrete application – how many, what products, at what pace – is in the hands of the States.

In France, it is possible to destock within 24 hours, explained the CEO of Sagess to the National Assembly in April.

A “significant release of diesel” will be carried out “in the first 20 days by the members and partners of the G7”, the G7 announced on Friday. “We will meet within the framework of the IEA in the coming days to examine the possibility of additional diesel releases if necessary.”

France will make the “effort” to favor diesel at the start, in a “desire to send a clear signal to the market”, added French President Emmanuel Macron.

With AFP

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