ISTANBUL, March 12 — Turkiye will release 11.6 million barrels of crude oil from its strategic reserves as part of the International Energy Agency (IEA)'s largest-ever coordinated stockpile release.
Xinhua reported its Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar as saying that a national oil stock committee had convened and approved the release, which will be carried out gradually over 90 days.
"We decided to release 11.6 million barrels from our strategic reserves in support of the IEA's coordinated release of 400 million barrels," he told the media during a visit to a coal mine in the Black Sea province of Zonguldak on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the IEA, which has 32 member countries and 13 association countries representing about 75 per cent of global energy demand, recommended that members release a combined 400 million barrels from national stockpiles — the largest coordinated action in the agency's history, according to its executive director Fatih Birol.
The move comes as conflict in West Asia has severely curtailed oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, with crude and refined product exports falling to less than 10 per cent of pre-conflict levels.
Bayraktar added that Turkiye is facing no disruptions to natural gas supplies, including imports from Iran, as seasonal demand eased with warmer temperatures.
"Citizens are not experiencing any shortages," he said.
