Record 400 million barrels: IEA releases emergency oil reserves

The International Energy Agency (IEA) decided to release 400 million barrels of crude oil from their emergency reserves to curb rising prices amid the Middle East conflict and the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

This was announced in a statement by the IEA, Ukrinform reports.

"The 32 Member countries of the International Energy Agency unanimously agreed today to make 400 million barrels of oil from their emergency reserves available to the market to address disruptions in oil markets stemming from the war in the Middle East," the statement reads.

According to IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol, the challenges in the oil market are unprecedented in scale, making it crucial that member countries respond with emergency collective actions of unprecedented size.

The emergency stocks will be released to the market over a period that is appropriate to the national circumstances of each member country and will be supplemented by additional emergency measures by some countries.

IEA members reportedly hold emergency reserves exceeding 1.2 billion barrels, with a further 600 million barrels of industry stocks held under government obligation.

This coordinated release marks the sixth in the IEA’s history since its founding in 1974. Previous collective actions were undertaken in 1991, 2005, 2011, and twice in 2022.

Spanish Energy Minister Sara Aagesen noted that the current release volume is more than double the amount agreed upon in 2022 after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. At that time, IEA member countries released 182 million barrels in two phases.

Spain has already supported the use of strategic reserves. Germany and Austria have announced similar intentions, while Japan plans to begin releasing its reserves as early as Monday, without waiting for a formal IEA decision.

It was previously reported that oil prices continued to fall on Wednesday after the IEA announced the possibility of making the largest over oil stock release due to potential supply disruptions caused by the war in the Middle East

Photo: AI