IEA Countries Plan to Release 400 Million Barrels of Oil from Reserves

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March 11, 2026
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The International Energy Agency, or IEA, has decided to let out 400 million barrels of oil from emergency stores.

This group includes 32 countries that work together on energy issues. They made this choice on Wednesday to help with oil shortages caused by fights in the Middle East. For regular people, this means trying to keep fuel prices from going too high and make sure there’s enough oil for everyone. It’s the biggest release ever in the IEA’s history, which started after a big oil crisis in 1973.

The main reason is the ongoing war involving the US, Israel, and Iran. Last month, the US and Israel attacked Iran, and Iran fought back by closing the Strait of Hormuz.

This narrow water path carries about 20% of the world’s oil and gas. Without it open, oil prices have jumped up and down wildly. The IEA wants to calm things down quickly, but they say it’s just a short-term fix. The real fix is getting ships back through the strait safely.

Countries like Japan and Germany are already planning to join in. Japan might start releasing oil as soon as Monday, and Germany will add about 2.4 million tons. The IEA countries have over 1.2 billion barrels saved up for emergencies like this. This is the sixth time they’ve done a big release together, and it’s way more than the 182 million barrels they let out in 2022 during the Ukraine war.

Leaders are talking about it in meetings, like a G7 video call led by France’s President Macron. He said they need to open the strait soon and work with Gulf countries. Experts agree it’s not a full solution because IEA countries use about 45 million barrels a day, so 400 million won’t last long. But it helps stop immediate problems, like high prices at gas stations.

Around the world, this mess is causing issues. Places like Bangladesh are guarding oil spots with soldiers, India is controlling gas use, and France is checking for price gouging. In the end, this release shows how wars far away can hit everyone’s wallet. Leaders hope it buys time for peace talks to fix the bigger problem and keep energy flowing steady.