The IEA unanimously approved releasing the largest emergency oil reserves ever—400 million barrels—to counter rising oil prices caused by the Middle East war and the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
On 11 Mar 2026 GMT+7, Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), revealed that all 32 IEA member countries unanimously agreed to initiate the largest emergency oil reserve release in the agency’s history, following a rapid and continuous rise in oil prices due to the Middle East war.
"IEA member countries will release 400 million barrels of oil into the market... to compensate for the supply shortfall caused by the de facto closure of the (Strait of Hormuz)," Birol said during a live broadcast on the agency’s website.
"The challenges we face in the oil market are unprecedented in scale, so I am very pleased that IEA member countries have responded with this historically large collective emergency measure," Birol added.
The IEA also emphasized that the emergency oil release will occur within a “timeframe appropriate to the domestic circumstances” of each member country.
This marks the sixth time the IEA has approved a systematic oil reserve release, with five previous instances occurring in 1991, 2005, 2011, and twice in 2022.
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Source:bbc