Overview
- The 32 member countries approved the action on March 11 and have now begun the sixth coordinated stock release since the IEA was founded in 1974.
- Initial cargoes are moving from Asia and Oceania, with Europe and the United States slated to start deliveries by the end of the month.
- The drawdown totals 400 million barrels, more than double the roughly 182.7 million released in two actions after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
- IEA chief Fatih Birol said members stand ready to authorize additional releases if needed and described the Middle East turmoil as the oil market’s largest supply outage.
- The move targets stability after Iran effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, which has driven up crude prices, and member stocks will still exceed 1.4 billion barrels after the agreed release.