The 32 member countries of the International Energy Agency (IEA) unanimously agreed to make 400 million bbl 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 decision to take emergency collective action was made following an extraordinary meeting of IEA member governments on 10 March, convened by the IEA executive director, to assess market conditions amid the conflict in the Middle East and consider options to address supply disruptions.
“The oil market challenges we are facing are unprecedented in scale, therefore I am very glad that IEA member countries have responded with an emergency collective action of unprecedented size,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. “Oil markets are global, so the response to major disruptions needs to be global, too. Energy security is the founding mandate of the IEA, and I am pleased that IEA members are showing strong solidarity in taking decisive action together.”
The IEA said the emergency stock will be made available to the market over a timeframe appropriate to the national circumstances of each member country, adding that the release will be supplemented by additional emergency measures by some countries.
IEA members hold emergency stockpiles of more than 1.2 billion bbl of oil, with a further 600 million bbl of industry stock held under government obligation. The coordinated stock release is the sixth in the history of the IEA, which was created in 1974. Previous collective actions were taken in 1991, 2005, 2011, and twice in 2022.
The conflict in the Middle East that began on 28 February has impeded oil flow through the Strait of Hormuz, with export volumes of crude and refined products currently at less than 10% of preconflict levels. This is forcing operators across the region to shut in or curtail a substantial amount of production.
An average of 20 million B/D of crude oil and oil products transited the Strait of Hormuz in 2025, or approximately 25% of the world’s seaborne oil trade. Options for oil to bypass the Strait of Hormuz are limited.
The IEA said that its secretariat will provide further details of how this collective action will be implemented “in due course.” It also said it will continue to monitor global oil and gas markets closely and provide recommendations to member governments as needed.
Watch comments from IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol here: