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Nazrin Abdul

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Member countries of the International Energy Agency (IEA) have unanimously agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil from emergency reserves to the global market in an effort to stabilize supply following disruptions caused by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, AzerNEWS reports, citing the agency.

The decision was reached after an extraordinary meeting of the IEA’s 32 member governments, convened by the agency’s Executive Director Fatih Birol to assess the rapidly evolving market conditions and consider coordinated responses to supply interruptions.

“The oil market challenges we are facing are unprecedented in scale,” Birol said. “I am very glad that IEA member countries have responded with an emergency collective action of unprecedented size. Oil markets are global, so the response to major disruptions must also be global.”

Birol emphasized that energy security remains the founding mandate of the IEA, noting that the coordinated action demonstrates strong solidarity among member states in responding decisively to a global supply shock.

The emergency oil will be released over a timeframe tailored to the national circumstances of each participating country, with several governments also preparing additional emergency measures to support market stability.

IEA members collectively hold more than 1.2 billion barrels of government-controlled emergency oil stocks, along with roughly 600 million barrels of industry reserves held under government obligation.

This coordinated release marks the sixth emergency stock draw in the IEA’s history since the agency was established in 1974. Previous actions were taken during the Gulf War, supply disruptions following Hurricane Katrina, the Libyan Crisis, and twice during the Global Energy Crisis.

The latest move follows a conflict in the Middle East that began on February 28, 2026, which has significantly disrupted oil flows through the critical maritime chokepoint of the Strait of Hormuz. Export volumes of crude oil and refined products through the passage have fallen to less than 10% of pre-conflict levels, forcing operators across the region to shut down or sharply curtail production.

In 2025, an average of 20 million barrels per day of crude oil and petroleum products passed through the Strait of Hormuz—representing around a quarter of global seaborne oil trade. With limited alternative routes available, disruptions in the waterway have had an immediate impact on global supply chains.

The IEA Secretariat said further details on how the coordinated release will be implemented will be announced soon. The agency will continue monitoring global oil and gas markets closely and provide recommendations to member governments as the situation evolves.