Oil surpasses 112 dollars and marks highs since May: why Brent is rising and how it affects Spain

As of October 22, 2026, the European regime for strategic oil reserves is already approved and remains in force: its central rule is Directive 2009/119/EC. What is under review is its possible update; in the sources consulted, no formal legislative proposal for modification or replacement being negotiated by the Council and the European Parliament has been identified.

Therefore, it is advisable to separate two issues: the application of existing obligations and the preparation of a future reform. Recent decisions on coordination or release of reserves belong to the first, and do not by themselves mean that new legislation has been approved.

1. The current regulation is not pending approval

Directive 2009/119/EC obliges Member States to maintain minimum reserves of crude oil and petroleum products. It also establishes mechanisms for storage, information, and availability of those stocks in the event of a supply crisis.

The Commission continues to consider this directive one of the legal instruments of European material preparedness. This appears in the documentation of the European Reserves Strategy, presented in July 2025. Its review does not suspend current obligations nor replace them with the guidelines of that strategy.

2. The reform is in the preparatory phase

The main milestones identified are as follows:

• Request from the European Parliament. On July 8, 2025, the Eurochamber approved a resolution on energy supply security that called for a review of Directive 2009/119/EC. The request responds to geopolitical changes and the needs for resilience and preparedness, including risks to fuel supply. It can be consulted in the approved resolution.
• Work of the Commission. The reserves strategy documentation identifies the directive as a framework under review. This places the update within the scope of analysis and preparation of possible changes, according to the Commission document.
• No formal legislative proposal located. No COM proposal directly modifying or repealing the directive has been identified, nor legislative positions of the Council and Parliament on a new oil reserves regime.

The parliamentary resolution corresponds to procedure 2025/2055(INI), of own initiative: it expresses a political position but does not amend legislation. The parliamentary report allows distinguishing that work from a binding legislative proposal.

3. The 2026 measures do not amount to a new directive

On April 22, 2026, the Commission presented the AccelerateEU package of measures. It includes coordination of exceptional reserve releases, attention to the availability of kerosene and diesel, and the announced creation of a Fuel Observatory to monitor production, trade, and stocks. The Commission communication outlines these actions but does not evidence the approval of a replacement regime.

The Regulation (EU) 2026/261, in force since February 3, 2026, must also be distinguished. It regulates the phased elimination of Russian gas imports and the preparation for Russian oil, with diversification plans and dependency monitoring; it does not establish a new general system of strategic reserves. Its text is published in the Official Journal of the EU.

In conclusion: the existing legislation is in application; its update is in preparation, without a formal legislative negotiation identified. The next relevant milestone would be the publication of a concrete proposal from the Commission, which would allow knowing its scope and timetable.

The Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) has competencies to ensure energy supply, plan the system, and develop regulatory measures that protect supply continuity. It exercises these mainly through the Secretary of State for Energy, respecting the powers of the energy regulator and the autonomous communities. Its main organizational reference is Royal Decree 503/2024, especially its articles 2, 3, and 4.

1. Guarantee of supply and strategic autonomy

Article 2.1.a assigns to the Secretary of State the development of energy policy with explicit objectives of supply security, supply independence, and strategic autonomy. Article 2.1.l specifies its function: "the preparation and, where appropriate, application of measures aimed at ensuring energy supply".

This responsibility includes promoting flexibility through storage and demand management: having energy when needed and facilitating consumption adaptation to system conditions. It also includes saving, efficiency, and fuel substitution with lower-emission alternatives.

2. Infrastructure planning and electrical capacity

The Ministry develops energy planning and strategy, forecasts demand, and analyzes consumption, prices, and technological evolution. The Directorate General for Energy Policy and Mines participates in indicative and binding infrastructure planning and its monitoring, together with competent bodies.

• Electricity: prepares proposals on system operation, non-peninsular systems, and capacity mechanisms, which allow remunerating resource availability to cover demand.
• Networks and storage: promotes infrastructures, renewable integration, and solutions that provide flexibility.
• Reliability: the Directorate General set parameters to evaluate electricity supply security through the Resolution of July 7, 2025.

3. Gas, oil, and security reserves

Its competencies cover hydrocarbon management, supply monitoring, and security obligations. Royal Decree 1716/2004 regulates minimum security stocks, diversification of gas supply, and the operation of the Strategic Petroleum Reserves Corporation (CORES).

Within this framework, the Ministry receives information on supplies and reserves and participates in their control, with CORES intervention and according to the territorial distribution of powers. The release of reserves should not be attributed exclusively to the Ministry: the agreements of April 29, 2025, and March 17, 2026, were adopted by the Council of Ministers and published through resolutions of the Secretary of State for Energy (2025 agreement and 2026 agreement).

4. Authorizations, inspection, and coordinated response

When it corresponds to the General State Administration, it processes authorizations, controls operators' obligations, and exercises inspection and sanctioning powers. These functions cover technical conditions, effective availability of electrical and gas installations, supply continuity, and service quality. It also formulates basic regulation on installation safety.

The Directorate General for Energy Planning and Coordination also concentrates strategic planning, efficiency, and nuclear management functions, including authorizations and monitoring of international commitments on physical protection of nuclear materials and installations.

5. Scope and limits

The Ministry coordinates energy policy with other departments and maintains international and European energy relations. However, leading energy security policy does not equate to daily operation of the networks: technical operation and regulatory supervision have differentiated responsible parties. Therefore, its competencies should be understood as a combination of planning, regulation, prevention, control, and coordination, not as an exclusive operational responsibility over any incident.

Spain must permanently maintain reserves of crude oil and equivalent petroleum products, at least equal to the greater of two thresholds: 90 days of average daily net imports or 61 days of average daily internal consumption. Additionally, it must ensure that these reserves are physically accessible, verifiable, and usable in the event of a serious supply disruption. The European reference standard is Directive 2009/119/EC, not a regulation.

1. Maintain the minimum required volume

The two European thresholds are calculation alternatives: Spain must comply with the one that yields the higher quantity, expressed in oil equivalent and calculated over the corresponding reference period. Therefore, it is not correct to summarize the European obligation as 90 days of consumption, because that period refers to net imports.

Article 50.4 of the Hydrocarbons Sector Law expressly incorporates this requirement: to maintain a level equivalent to at least the greater of both amounts.

2. Apply Spanish storage obligations

Royal Decree 1716/2004, as amended, specifies the national system. As a general rule, obligated parties must maintain stocks equivalent to 92 days of their sales or consumption from the previous calendar year. During the first quarter, sales or consumption from the penultimate calendar year are taken as reference. For liquefied petroleum gases, there is a differentiated obligation of 20 days.

These 92 days constitute a national obligation with a calculation basis different from the European one; they should not be confused or directly compared as if measuring exactly the same thing.

• Wholesale operators must maintain stocks corresponding to their national sales, with exclusions provided to avoid duplications.
• Retail distributors and consumers are also obligated for the part of their sales or consumption not supplied by the legally established operators.
• The system combines industry stocks and strategic reserves managed by CORES. The MITECO describes the ordinary distribution as 42 days managed by CORES and 50 by the industry.

3. Guarantee real availability and control

It is not enough to certify a quantity on paper. Article 50.3 requires that stocks be physically available and accessible to supply the national market and that they can be verified at any time. This requires adequate facilities and means for reception, storage, and transport, whose availability must be documented.

Obligated parties must provide information on purchases, sales, movements, and stock levels to authorities and CORES. Additionally, they must submit to this corporation, within the first five months of the year, an accounting statement of the previous year accompanied by an audit report, except for the substitution provided when there has been no activity. Non-compliance is subject to the sanctioning regime of the Hydrocarbons Law.

4. Provide for crisis response

The regulation allows mobilizing reserves in shortage situations. Article 49 of the Hydrocarbons Law empowers the Council of Ministers to intervene stocks, limit or allocate supplies, and adopt consumption restrictions.

Article 20 of the Directive contemplates temporary reserve reductions under the circumstances and conditions it regulates, including effective international mobilization decisions. The legal guarantee therefore combines quantity, accessibility, supervision, and response capacity; it does not consist solely of storing fuel.