The G7 countries showed on Monday their willingness to adopt 'all necessary measures' to stabilize hydrocarbon markets, whose prices have skyrocketed due to the war in the Middle East, and this includes the possibility of resorting to strategic reserves. This is the main message at the end of the videoconference meeting of the finance ministers of the seven richest countries in the world, in which, according to French Minister Roland Lescure, whose country holds the rotating presidency, it was stressed that they will examine 'closely how we can stabilize the entire flow, the entire market'. This could lead to 'the release of strategic reserves', Lescure repeated to the press from Brussels, after emphasizing that for now there are no supply problems for either gas or oil in Europe or the United States. The French minister explained that the evolution of the situation over the past weekend, when attacks on oil installations in the Persian Gulf took place, and the market's reaction this morning, with sharp rises in oil and gas, had convinced the G7 countries to 'send very clear, very firm and I hope very effective messages to reassure everyone'. According to his analysis, the concerns expressed in the oil and gas markets are mainly related to problems with their export from the Persian Gulf, that is, with Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's hydrocarbons usually circulate. These hydrocarbons are mainly destined for the Asian market, and that is why he wanted to make it clear that for the time being 'there are no problems with the supply of oil or gas in Europe or the United States'. Nevertheless, fears of a prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz or the destruction of production or refining facilities in the Persian Gulf led to a price surge this morning. In the case of Brent crude, which serves as a benchmark in Europe, the rise was at times more than 30% as it temporarily exceeded the $119 threshold, adding to the 20% accumulated last week. In the early afternoon, the increase was slightly less than 10%, although the Brent barrel remained above the symbolic $100 mark. Members of the International Energy Agency (IEA), which includes all G7 countries, are obliged to have reserves equivalent to at least 90 days of imports to be able to respond to exceptional situations, particularly when there is a supply disruption. According to IEA data updated last November, all members, with the sole exception of Australia, met this minimum. In the case of Spain, these reserves were for 96 days, 56 of which were in the hands of industry and another 40 in the hands of the public authorities. Since its creation at the 1973 oil summit, the agency has resorted to its strategic reserves five times, the last two in March and April 2022, with the energy crisis generated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
