The International Energy Agency (IEA) agreed on Wednesday to release the largest volume of emergency oil reserves in its history, in a bid to counter the effects on energy markets of the war in the Middle East.

The Paris-based organisation said it will make 400 million barrels of oil available from its members’ emergency reserves.

It’s a larger stock than the 182.7 million barrels that were released in 2022 by the IEA's 32 member countries in response to the start of the Ukraine war.

IEA member countries currently hold over 1.2 billion barrels of public emergency oil stocks, with a further 600 million barrels of industry stocks held under government obligation.

In response to US and Israel strikes, Iran has attacked commercial ships across the Persian Gulf, escalating a campaign of squeezing the oil-rich region as global energy concerns mount.

Iran has effectively stopped cargo traffic in the narrow Hormuz Strait through which about a fifth of all oil is shipped from the Persian Gulf towards the Indian Ocean. It has also targeted oil fields and refineries in Gulf Arab nations, aiming at generating enough global economic pain to pressure the US and Israel to end their strikes.

G7 Energy ministers on Tuesday said they supported in principle “the implementation of proactive measures to address the situation, including the use of strategic reserves."

According to the IEA, export volumes of crude and refined products are currently at less than 10 percent of pre-war levels. (AP)


Edited by Edmond Fong