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The International Energy Agency on Wednesday agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil to address the supply disruption triggered by the Iran war, the largest such action in the organization’s history.
The IEA did not set out a timeline for when the stocks would hit the market. It said that the reserves would be released over a timeframe that is appropriate to the circumstances of each of its 32 member countries.
IEA members are primarily advanced economies in Europe, North America and Northeast Asia. The organization is tasked with maintaing global energy security. It was founded in 1974 in response to the oil embargo imposed by Arab producers over U.S. support for Israel during the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.
“The conflict in the Middle East is having significant impacts on global oil and gas markets, with major implications for energy security, energy affordability and the global economy for oil,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said in remarks broadcast from the group’s headquarters in Paris.
