TOKYO: The head of the International Energy Agency said Wednesday he was "ready to move forward" with an additional release of oil reserves "if and when necessary".
Fatih Birol's comments in Tokyo came after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi asked the agency "to prepare to implement an additional release in case the situation drags on" with the war in the Middle East.
The IEA said earlier this month that member countries would unlock 400 million barrels of oil from their reserves to ease the impact of the Middle East war, the biggest such release ever.
But Birol said that there was "still a significant amount of oil in our stocks".
"Eighty percent of our stocks are still with us. This 400 million barrels were only 20 percent of our stocks," he said.
"If and when necessary we are ready to move forward, but I very much hope that it will not be necessary."
He added: "The world is facing a serious energy security threat, but the International Energy Agency is ready to play its core role of being a guardian of global energy security."
Japan depends on the Middle East for 95 percent of its oil imports.
The country started releasing 15 days' worth of private-sector petroleum reserves last week and it will on Thursday begin tapping into government stockpiles.
Tokyo also plans a release from joint stockpiles held by producing nations in the country by the end of the month, Takaichi has said.
A joint reserve is held in Japan by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, according to the Petroleum Association of Japan.
Under normal circumstances, the jointly stored crude is commercially used, but in the event of an emergency, Japanese oil companies have preferential purchasing rights.