IEA releases 400 million barrels from strategic reserves

The 32 member countries of the International Energy Agency (IEA) have unanimously decided to release 400 million barrels of oil from emergency strategic reserves onto the market, in an attempt to contain the severe turbulence affecting the global energy market following the outbreak of war in the Middle East. The decision was taken at the end of an extraordinary meeting of the organization, which approved an emergency collective action of unprecedented scale. The aim is to compensate for the sharp drop in crude oil flows in the region and limit the impact on prices and energy supply security.

“The challenges facing the oil market are of unprecedented magnitude,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. “I am very pleased that member countries have responded with an emergency collective action of unprecedented scale. Oil markets are global, and the response to major disruptions must also be global.”

Altogether, IEA members hold more than 1.2 billion barrels of emergency reserves, in addition to around 600 million barrels of industry stocks held under government obligation. The intervention represents the sixth coordinated oil release in the organization’s history, founded in 1974, following those carried out in 1991, 2005, 2011, and twice in 2022.

The decision is based on the sharp deterioration of energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the strategic chokepoints of the global oil trade. In 2025, an average of about 20 million barrels per day of crude oil and refined products passed through this maritime route, accounting for roughly a quarter of global seaborne trade.

However, the conflict in the Middle East, which began on February 28, 2026, has severely disrupted traffic in the region. According to the IEA, exports of oil and refined products through the strait have fallen to less than 10% of pre-crisis levels, forcing several energy operators in the area to shut down or significantly reduce production.

Andrea Pelucchi