Emergency oil stocks
Sweden is committed to comply with the stockholding obligation based on international agreements which require us to hold emergency oil stocks to ensure oil security of supply in the case of a severe disruption.
The storage obligation is linked to Sweden’s commitments to the IEA (International Energy Agency) under the IEP Agreement, an accord between 32 countries on a joint energy program. The Swedish legislation is based on the EU-directive on stockholding obligations. The agreements require each member country to maintain oil reserves equivalent to 90 days of net imports.
The industry is obliged to hold the stocks in Sweden, to make sure the products are kept fresh and can reach the market quickly in the case of a disruption. This means that importers, sellers and consumers of oil are legally required to maintain emergency stocks of crude oil and fuels.
Minimum stocks
The size of the Swedish oil reserves for supply disruptions is determined annually by the Swedish Energy Agency. We also specify who is subject to the storage obligation and the extent of individual storage. The obligation is based on the volume sold or consumed by the obligated party during the preceding base year (calendar year). A storage year runs from July 1 to June 30 of the following year.
The Swedish Energy Agency monitors compliance with legislation on emergency oil stocks.
Legislation
Swedish legislation on emergency oil stockpiling is based on Council Directive 2009/119/EC. The EU directive aligns closely with IEA requirements and reporting on emergency reserves.
The Swedish Energy Agency is the supervisory authority under the law and provides detailed descriptions of the storage process.
Lag (2012:806) om beredskapslagring av olja (in Swedish, riksdagen.se)
Directive on minimum stocks of crude oil and/or petroleum products - 2009/119 (eur-lex.europa.eu)
