IEA to release one-third of total oil reserve stock to combat energy crisis

IEA to release one-third of total oil reserve stock to combat energy crisis Submitted by Sean Mathews on Wed, 03/11/2026 - 16:12 Vessels carrying Iranian crude for China have been passing through the Strait of Hormuz, but it's effectively closed for western ships A general view shows Ras Tanura's oil production plant near Dammam in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, on 27 December 2004 (Bilal Qabalan/AFP) Off The International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday that its member countries agreed to unlock 400 million barrels of oil from their reserves, as the US-Israeli war on Iran cut off supplies from the Gulf. "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," IEA executive director Fatih Birol said. The release is a historic record for IEA member countries and far exceeds the 182 million barrels of oil they released in 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine jolted energy markets.