Minister Says Oil Won’t Leave Australia Amid IEA’s Massive Stockpile Release

‘What I want to make really clear ... is all that fuel remains in Australia. It doesn’t go anywhere because of [the IEA’s] request,’ said Madeleine King.

Barrels labelled with the Castrol logo are seen at Fremantle Ports in Perth, Western Australia, on March 16, 2024. Susan Mortimer/The Epoch Times

Australia’s Resources minister Madeleine King has reassured Australians that oil reserved for Australian use will not be shipped off to other nations amid a decision by the International Energy Agency (IEA) to release 400 million oil barrels from emergency reserves to address the energy crisis.

King called the IEA’s decision “important” and said any oil released by Australia would remain onshore, though sending it overseas would be “considered.”

“What I want to make really clear to everybody listening is all that fuel remains in Australia. It doesn’t go anywhere because of this request,” she told ABC radio.

“It is a means of coordinating the release of fuel into ... all the members’ respective economies.

“So people shouldn’t be misled by anyone saying we’re somehow going to start shipping fuel and we’ll have less available to Australians to use for our purposes.”

King’s comments come as the IEA announced 32 member nations involved in the international collective had unanimously agreed to move to address disruptions in oil markets stemming from conflict in the Middle East.

The agreement from all nations is in principle—meaning each individual member state will still be left to decide how much of their reserves to free up, if any.

King said she hoped conflict in the Middle East would settle soon.

“I don’t want to predict that it won’t get harder if this conflict goes along and I really hope it ends very, very soon,” she said.

“Without peace, we have no prosperity. So it’s very important this comes to an end as soon as it possibly can be.”

King said she was also working alongside Australian Energy Minister Chris Bowen to address shortages and that the government will act “thoughtfully.”

IEA Calls Oil Release ‘Unprecedented’

The IEA said it welcomed its member nations’ agreement to the largest oil release in its history—more than twice the amount released in 2022 in response to the Russia–Ukraine War.

“The oil market challenges we are facing are unprecedented in scale, therefore I am very glad that IEA member countries have responded with an emergency collective action of unprecedented size,” IEA executive director Fatih Birol said in a statement.

“Oil markets are global so the response to major disruptions needs to be global too.

“Energy security is the founding mandate of the IEA, and I am pleased that IEA members are showing strong solidarity in taking decisive action together.”

Member nations of the IEA include Australia, the United States and the UK as well as a number of European and Asian nations.

IEA members currently maintain emergency stockpiles exceeding 1.2 billion barrels, alongside another 600 million barrels held by industry under government mandate.