IEA agrees to record release of emergency oil reserves to calm surging prices

The International Energy Agency agreed on Wednesday to release the largest volume of emergency oil reserves in its history, in a bid to counter the effects on energy markets of the war in the Middle East.The Paris-based organisation said it will make 400 million barrels of oil available from its members’ emergency reserves. It’s a larger stock than the 182.7 million barrels that were released in 2022 by the IEA’s 32 member countries in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.IEA member countries currently hold over 1.2 billion barrels of public emergency oil stocks, with a further 600 million barrels of industry stocks held under government obligation.In response to US and Israel strikes, Iran has attacked commercial ships across the Persian Gulf, escalating a campaign of squeezing the oil-rich region as global energy concerns mount.Iran has effectively stopped cargo traffic in the narrow Hormuz Strait through which about a fifth of all oil is shipped from the Persian Gulf towards the Indian Ocean. It has also targeted oilfields and refineries in Gulf Arab nations, aiming at generating enough global economic pain to pressure the United States and Israel to end their strikes.02:00Iran war sends oil prices surging, prompting panic buying and rationing in parts of Asia