IEA agrees record release of oil reserves to counter soaring energy prices

The International Energy Agency has agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil from its members’ strategic reserves, in an attempt to counter soaring global energy prices amid the United States-Israeli war on Iran.

The proposed release is larger than the 182 million barrels of ⁠oil that IEA member ⁠countries released in 2022 ⁠after Russia launched its ⁠full-scale invasion ⁠of Ukraine.

“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,” said IEA executive director Fatih Birol in a statement on Wednesday.

“Oil markets are global so the response to major disruptions needs to be global too. Energy security is the founding mandate of the IEA, and I am pleased that IEA members are showing strong solidarity in taking decisive action together.”

More to come…