G7 Finance Ministers to Meet to Discuss Release of Strategic Oil Reserves

Moscow (ANTARA) - France’s Trade Minister Serge Papin stated on Thursday that the finance ministers, energy ministers, and central bank governors of the G7 member countries will discuss the release of strategic oil reserves at a meeting in France on Saturday (30/3), amid a surge in prices due to the Middle East conflict. France’s Finance Minister Roland Lescure said the meeting will take place for the first time in 50 years. “The issue of releasing strategic reserves will be discussed there,” Papin told Europe 1 radio. On 11 March, members of the International Energy Agency (IEA) agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil from their emergency reserves following supply disruptions due to the situation in the Middle East. Escalation of tensions around Iran has hindered shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, which is the main route for oil and liquefied natural gas shipments from Persian Gulf countries to global markets. This has also affected oil export and production levels in the region, thereby driving up prices.