- America and Europe start releasing their reserves from the end of March.
- The IEA releases 271.7 million barrels to cushion the surge in oil prices.
- The agency requests insurance and protection to restore navigation in Hormuz.
Strategic oil reserves will be released “immediately” in Asia and Oceania, and from the end of March in America and Europe, the International Energy Agency announced on Sunday.
IEA members agreed on March 11 to tap their oil stocks to cushion the price surge caused by the war in the Middle East, by far the largest response of its kind ever seen.
“Individual implementation plans have been submitted to the IEA by member countries. These plans indicate that stocks will be immediately made available by IEA member countries in Asia-Oceania,” the IEA said.
“Stocks from IEA member countries in the Americas and Europe will be available from the end of March,” the statement added.
The IEA said a total of 271.7 million barrels of government-managed stockpiles would be released globally.
“The war in the Middle East is creating the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market,” he said.
It’s called the release of an emergency stockpile – the sixth in the world energy body’s history and the first since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 – an “important and welcome buffer”.
The announced releases have not had a significant impact on the price of oil, which hovers around $100 per barrel, the highest since 2022 and up from $70 before the start of the war.
The IEA added that “the most important factor in ensuring a return to stable flows is the resumption of regular ship transit through the Strait of Hormuz.”
Iran has effectively blockaded the strategic strait since the war began on Feb. 28 with U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iranian targets.
“Adequate insurance mechanisms and physical protection of maritime transport are essential for the resumption of flows,” the IEA said.
