New Delhi, Mar 1 (IANS): The 31 member countries of the governing board of the International Energy Agency (IEA) on Tuesday agreed to release 60 million barrels of oil from their emergency reserves to send a unified and strong message to global oil markets that there will be no shortfall in supplies as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The extraordinary governing board meeting, held at the ministerial level, was chaired by US Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm, in her capacity as the chair of this year's IEA ministerial meeting.

During the meeting, ministers expressed solidarity with the people of Ukraine and their democratically elected government in the face of Russia's 'appalling' and 'unprovoked' violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The IEA ministers noted with concern the energy security impacts of the egregious actions by Russia and voiced support for sanctions imposed by the international community in response.

The ministers noted that Russia's invasion comes against the backdrop of already tight global oil markets, heightened price volatility, commercial inventories that are at their lowest level since 2014, and a limited ability of producers to provide additional supply in the short term.

"It is heartening to see how quickly the global community has united to condemn Russia's actions and respond decisively," said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.

"I am pleased that the IEA has also come together today to take action. The situation in energy markets is very serious and demands our full attention. Global energy security is under threat, putting the world economy at risk during a fragile stage of the recovery."

"I am grateful that IEA member countries made available the initial 60 million barrels to provide stability to oil markets," Birol added.

"I am also happy that our member countries are committed to do their utmost to support Ukraine in terms of fuel supply. At the invitation of the governing board, I am also looking forward to welcoming Ukraine Energy Minister Galushchenko as a special guest to our forthcoming ministerial meeting later this month."

IEA members hold emergency stockpiles of 1.5 billion barrels. The announcement of an initial release of 60 million barrels, or 4 per cent of those stockpiles, is equivalent to 2 million barrels a day for 30 days.

The coordinated drawdown is the fourth in the history of IEA, which was created in 1974. Previous collective actions were taken in 1991, 2005 and 2011.

Russia plays an outsized role in global energy markets. It is the world's third largest oil producer and the largest exporter. Its exports of about 5 million barrels a day represent roughly 12 per cent of global trade --and its approximately 2.85 million barrels a day of petroleum products represent around 15 per cent of global refined product trade.

Around 60 per cent of Russia's oil exports go to Europe and another 20 per cent to China.

The ministers resolved that energy supply should not be used as a means of political coercion nor as a threat to national and international security.

The IEA Secretariat will continue to closely monitor global oil and gas markets and provide recommendations to the governing board, including possible additional emergency oil stock draws, as needed.