The International Energy Agency (IEA) agreed to release 400 million barrels from its strategic oil reserves, the largest amount to date, as governments seek to contain the surge in energy prices triggered by the war in the Middle East.
“The challenges facing the oil market are unprecedented in scale,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said in a statement on Wednesday. “IEA member countries have responded with an emergency collective action of unprecedented size.”
Oil prices surged to nearly $120 per barrel in London earlier this week as flows through the crucial Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf remained largely paralyzed, although futures later eased, partly on expectations that governments would draw on their reserves.
The IEA, which coordinates reserve releases among OECD countries, has said its 32 members hold more than 1.2 billion barrels in public emergency reserves, including the largest buffer, the United States Strategic Petroleum Reserve. In addition, there are another 600 million barrels held in industry inventories under government obligations.
