European Commission: To amend the current emergency oil reserve system

The European Commission initiated a public consultation on the 22nd to prepare for the revision of the EU’s current emergency oil reserve system to better respond to changes in the situation in the era of high oil prices.

The European Commission said that due to geopolitical and other factors, the risk of oil supply disruption is increasing. From the medium term, it will be difficult for the oil supply to keep pace with the growth of demand. Therefore, the EU needs to improve the emergency oil reserve system.

The European Union’s emergency oil reserve system was established in 1968. It complements commercial inventories, mainly to provide buffers when oil supply is seriously hindered. Its main content is to require member states to maintain strategic petroleum reserves that can meet 90-day demand.

The European Commission pointed out in the public consultation document that this emergency oil reserve system has existed for 40 years and should be adjusted according to changes in the EU and crude oil market.

According to the proposal provided by the European Commission, the 90-day strategic oil reserve level has been proved to be sufficient, but there should be some changes in the calculation methods and reserve varieties. In addition, the European Commission also proposed to strengthen the government's control over some of the emergency oil reserves, increase the supervision of member states to maintain the level of reserves, and increase the EU's ability to coordinate the oil supply crisis.

The public consultation activities as of June 17th. The European Commission stated that it will put forward relevant legislative proposals in the second half of this year on the basis of the consultation results.