IEA Releases 400 Million Barrels of Oil from Strategic Reserves

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has announced an unprecedented release of 400 million barrels of oil from its reserves in response to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. This marks the largest release ever by the agency, aimed at mitigating the economic impact of the crisis.

Fatih Birol, the IEA’s executive director, stated, “We are confronting oil market challenges that are unparalleled, and I am pleased that IEA member nations have united in a collective emergency response of this magnitude.”

Birol emphasized the necessity for a global approach to addressing such significant disruptions in the oil markets, pointing out that “oil markets are global, so the response to major disruptions needs to be global too.”

During an emergency meeting, representatives from 32 countries reached a unanimous decision to release 400 million barrels of oil from their strategic reserves. This measure aims to stabilize the oil markets affected by the Middle Eastern conflict.

The statement further detailed that these emergency stocks will be distributed into the market according to each member country’s specific national circumstances. Additionally, some countries will implement further emergency actions to support this effort.

The US-Israeli war with Iran has effectively closed off the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping route for oil and gas. 

The waterway normally sees around 20% of all oil pass through every day, but with Iran all but cutting off access to the route, prices have shot through the roof and remain volatile. 

Earlier today, Iran attacked three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, including a Thailand-flagged vessel called the Mayuree Naree.

Smoke rising from the Thai bulk carrier ‘Mayuree Naree’ near the Strait of Hormuz after an attack on March 11

Making matters worse is the reneging of US president Donald Trump’s promise to provide military escorts to ensure shipments of oil continue. 

Last week, he said: ‘No matter what, the United States will ensure the free flow of energy to the world.’

But yesterday, the US Navy was reported to have refused near-daily requests from the shipping industry for military escorts through the since ​the start of the war on Iran, saying the risk of attacks is too high for now. 

It is only the fifth time in its history that the IEA has mandated a release of oil to stabilise prices, having previously done so in 1991, 2005, 2011, and twice in 2022. 

The IEA release far exceeds the 182 million barrels of oil that its member countries released in 2022 when Russian leader Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine.

The 32 members of the IEA hold over 1.2billion barrels of public emergency oil stocks, with a further 600 million barrels of industry stocks held under government mandates.

Earlier, Iran threatened to send oil prices to over $200 a barrel, as nations scramble to stabilise prices. 

Ebrahim Zolfaqari, spokesperson for Iran’s military command said in comments directed at the US and its allies: ‘Get ready for oil be $200 a barrel, because the oil price depends on regional security which you have destabilised.’

Yesterday, Iran said it would not allow ‘one litre of oil’ to be shipped from the Middle East if US and Israeli attacks continue. 

Saudi Arabia’s state oil company today warned of ‘catastrophic consequences’ for the world’s oil markets if the Middle East war continues to choke exports.

Amin Nasser, the CEO of Aramco, said: ‘While we have faced disruptions in the past, this one by far is the biggest crisis the region’s oil and gas industry has faced.’

The Thai ship was attacked today, with Iran claiming responsibility 

He admitted that while his firm, the world’s single biggest exporter of oil, was meeting most of its customers’ needs for now, this was only possible by tapping into storage facilities outside the Gulf. 

Nasser said that these stores cannot be used for ‘an extended period of time, but for the time being, we are capitalising on it.’ 

The CEO said: ‘There would be catastrophic consequences for the world’s oil markets, and the longer the disruption goes on … the more drastic the consequences for the global economy.’

As the world continues to reel from skyrocketing fuel prices, the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen today said that the EU is considering subsidising or cutting gas prices to ‘deliver relief now.’

Gas prices in Europe have doubled since war broke out, and von der Leyen today said in Strasbourg that subsidies or caps could be used to lower the impact when gas sets the price of electricity, which happens when intermittent renewables do not supply power to the grid. 

The latest attacks from Iran roughly coincided with a new Israeli barrage on Beirut aimed at rooting out the Iran-backed group Hezbollah, which has fired into Israel from Lebanon in solidarity with the Tehran government. 

Explosions were also heard in Beirut and in southern Lebanon after Israel said it had started a new assault on targets related to the Iranian-linked militia Hezbollah.

The attacks set a building ablaze in central Beirut in the densely populated Aicha Bakkar area, engulfing the top two floors of the multi-storey structure. There were no immediate reports of casualties from the strike, which came without warning.

An earlier Israeli strike killed five people in the Nabatieh district in southern Lebanon, while two more were killed in strikes in the Tyre and Bint Jbeil districts, Lebanon’s health ministry said.

A Red Cross worker also died as a result of wounds sustained on Monday, when his team was hit by an Israeli strike while they were rescuing people from an earlier attack.

Nearly 500 people have been killed so far in Lebanon since Hezbollah triggered the latest round of fighting with Israel when it fired rockets into the country’s north after the American and Israeli attacks on Iran started.

In response, France today said it will send 60 tonnes of aid to Lebanon.  

French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot said the aid would arrive by Thursday, and would include ‘sanitation kits, hygiene kits, mattresses, lamps and a mobile medical post’ amid strikes on Lebanon. 

Israel warned of three Iranian attacks early on Wednesday, with sirens heard in Tel Aviv and elsewhere but no immediate reports of casualties.

In addition to Iranian attacks targeting Saudi Arabia’s oil fields, the kingdom’s defence ministry said it had destroyed six ballistic missiles launched toward Prince Sultan Air Base, a major US and Saudi-operated air facility in eastern Saudi Arabia. 

Birds fly as smoke rises after an Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs, Lebanon, March 11, 2026,

The ministry also said it intercepted and destroyed two drones over the eastern city of Hafar al-Batin. 

Two Iranian drones have struck near Dubai International Airport, wounding four people though flights continue, authorities said.

The Dubai Media Office, which issues statements on behalf of the city-state’s government, said the attack caused ‘minor injuries to two Ghanaian nationals and one Bangladeshi national, and moderate injuries to one Indian national’.

Dubai International Airport, home to the long-haul carrier Emirates, is the world’s busiest for international travel. Authorities have been trying build up its flight schedule though the airport has been targeted in the war. 

More to follow.