IEA agrees to release '400 million barrels' of strategic oil reserves… "largest in history"

JOON HYOUNG LEE

Summary

The IEA said it agreed to release 400 million barrels of strategic oil reserves to respond to disruptions in crude supply stemming from the war in Iran.
The 400 million barrels release was described as the largest in history strategic oil release in the IEA’s history.
Energy experts were cited as warning that, even with the measure, it will be difficult to fully offset the decline in crude volumes passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

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The International Energy Agency (IEA) has agreed to release 400 million barrels of strategic oil reserves to respond to disruptions in crude supply stemming from the war in Iran.

According to CNBC in the U.S. on the 11th (local time), the IEA said in a statement that day that its 32 member countries agreed to release 400 million barrels of reserves. The IEA said, "(The reserves) will be supplied to the market according to a schedule tailored to the circumstances of the 32 member countries." CNBC reported, "(400 million barrels is) the largest strategic oil release in IEA history."

IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol stressed that "the challenges facing the oil market at present are of unprecedented scale." Birol said he was "very pleased that IEA member countries have embarked on the largest emergency collective response in history," adding that "the oil market is global, so the response to major supply disruptions must also be global."

Still, some warn that even with the IEA release, it may be difficult to offset the supply disruption. CNBC noted that "about 20 million barrels of oil typically pass through the Strait of Hormuz each day," adding that "energy experts warn that, even with the IEA’s action, it will be difficult to fully offset a reduction in (crude) volumes transiting the Strait of Hormuz."

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