The International Energy Agency (IEA) members have agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil from emergency stockpiles to offset supply losses from the Strait of Hormuz. The agency said it will continue to closely monitor global oil and gas markets, noting that the West Asia conflict is having a significant impact on the global oil market, with Asian gas supply affected the most.
The Paris-based agency coordinates stockpile releases for OECD countries. Earlier, French Finance Minister Roland Lescure stated that G-7 leaders will discuss the stockpile release during their Wednesday meeting, according to Bloomberg. The Group of Seven has expressed support, in principle, for “proactive measures,” including releasing strategic reserves, though details on the scale of any potential intervention remain unspecified.
Oil prices in London surged to nearly $120/barrel
Oil prices in London surged to nearly $120 per barrel on Monday as flows through the strategic Strait of Hormuz remained largely blocked, raising fears of renewed inflation. Prices later eased after US President Donald Trump indicated the Iran conflict could end soon and amid expectations of governments releasing oil reserves.
The proposed release would surpass the 182 million barrels that IEA members released in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as per Bloomberg.
Notably, the IEA stated that its 32 member countries collectively maintain over 1.2 billion barrels in emergency reserves, including the largest, the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
IEA member countries
The list of IEA member countries is provided below:
- Australia
- Austria
- Belgium
- Canada
- Czechia
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Italy
- Japan
- Korea
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Mexico
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Slovak Republic
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- The Netherlands
- Türkiye
- United Kingdom
- United States
Energy crisis
As Middle East crisis escalates, world has began to feel the tremors. Roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and gas typically passes through the Strait of Hormuz. However, recent attacks on vessels and warnings from Iran that ships attempting to cross the strait could be targeted have effectively brought traffic through one of the world’s most critical energy routes to a halt.
Moreover, nearly half of India’s crude oil imports, along with a significant share of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) shipments, typically pass through the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow Gulf chokepoint that is now effectively closed due to the conflict.
