IEA will release oil to offset Libyan disruption (by Polya Lesova)

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- The International Energy Agency said Thursday that its 28 member countries have agreed to release 60 million barrels of oil in the coming month because of the ongoing disruption of oil supplies from Libya. The Libyan unrest removed 132 million barrels of light, sweet crude oil from the market by the end of May, according to IEA estimates. As part of the IEA move, the U.S. will release 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which stands at 727 million barrels. This is the third time in the history of the IEA that its members have decided to release stocks. "I expect this action will contribute to well-supplied markets and to ensuring a soft landing for the world economy," said IEA Executive Director Nobuo Tanaka in a statement.