The International Energy Agency has not yet decided whether member countries would conduct a second release of emergency oil reserves, executive director Nobuo Tanaka said on Tuesday.
The IEA in June announced a release of 60 million barrels from emergency stockpiles for one month - the third such move in the agency's history - in a temporary measure to fill a supply gap caused by disruptions in Libyan output.
The release also followed the failure of leading OPEC member Saudi Arabia to convince the group to increase supplies.
'In a pre-emptive move to avoid a serious risk scenario, we released our reserves and we understand the release was a success for now,' Tanaka told Reuters on the sidelines of a
seminar in the city. 'Whether to release further or hold on to wait and see is a matter of decision' by member countries.
The agency was also checking for how long top exporter Saudi Arabia would continue to increase output, Tanaka told the seminar. He said many market participants expect the kingdom to keep output at higher levels in July.
Before announcing the latest emergency release, the IEA had held consultations with the kingdom and received a pledge from the OPEC leader that it would keep output at raised levels, Tanaka also said.
In defiance of a refusal by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to back an output rise, Saudi Arabia independently increased its output, which hit 9.8 million bpd in June, a senior Gulf OPEC delegate told Reuters.
The IEA's oil market report released last week showed Saudi Arabia had raised output by 7,00,000 bpd in June from a month earlier.
The agency is also assessing how much of the oil it decided to release last month had reached the market, said Tanaka, on his last official trip before his term ends on August 31.
The IEA is aiming to complete consultations with all 28 member countries by July 23 and decide whether to draw further from emergency stocks, he added.
Source : New Age
