The International Energy Agency (IEA) announced on Wednesday that its member states will release a total of 400 million barrels of oil from their strategic reserves in an effort to stabilize global energy markets shaken by the ongoing war in the Middle East. The move represents the largest coordinated release of emergency oil stocks in the organization’s history.

IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol described the decision as an unprecedented collective response to extraordinary market disruption. According to him, the scale of the current energy crisis requires exceptional measures. The planned release significantly exceeds the 182 million barrels that IEA members put on the market in 2022 following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The Paris-based agency said the emergency reserves will be introduced gradually, with the exact timeline depending on each member country’s national circumstances. Some states are also expected to implement additional measures alongside the coordinated stock release to help stabilize supply and demand in global energy markets.

The announcement came as leaders of the Group of Seven industrialized nations held a video conference chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss the economic consequences of the war between the United States, Israel and Iran, which has now entered its second week.

Several countries have already signaled their intention to draw on their reserves. Japan and Germany confirmed earlier on Wednesday that they would release oil from their strategic stockpiles. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Tokyo plans to begin releasing reserves as early as the 16th of the month, even before a formal IEA decision on coordinated action. She explained that Japan is particularly vulnerable because of its heavy dependence on Middle Eastern oil supplies.

Germany also confirmed it would take similar steps. Economy and Energy Minister Katherina Reiche said Berlin intends to release about 2.4 million tons of oil, although she did not provide a specific timeframe.

The global oil market has experienced sharp swings since the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran late last month, triggering retaliatory attacks from Tehran across the oil-rich Gulf region. One of the most significant consequences has been the disruption of maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway through which roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas supplies normally pass.

With ship traffic severely reduced, millions of barrels of oil per day have struggled to reach global markets. The blockage has also created secondary effects across the region. In some cases, producers such as Iraq and Kuwait have been forced to halt output in certain fields because storage facilities are full and shipments cannot leave the region.

Although some crude is being rerouted through alternative routes, including pipelines linking Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea, the disruption has contributed to extreme price volatility. Before the conflict began, global oil prices were around USD 70 per barrel. They surged to nearly USD 120 at the peak of market panic and later fell back toward USD 90 after news emerged about the planned IEA intervention.

The IEA, founded after the oil crisis of the 1970s, was designed to protect energy-consuming nations during severe supply disruptions. It now includes 32 member countries, among them the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Turkey and most European nations, together accounting for around 80 percent of global energy demand. Member states are required to maintain emergency reserves sufficient to cover at least 90 days of imports.

Some countries also maintain large independent stockpiles. The United States holds the world’s largest strategic reserve, currently containing about 415 million barrels of oil out of a maximum capacity of 715 million. The reserve was last used in 2022 as part of the previous IEA-coordinated response to the energy shock caused by the war in Ukraine.

Despite the scale of the current release, analysts warn that emergency reserves alone cannot fully offset the supply disruption created by the conflict with Iran. Experts emphasize that the most effective way to stabilize markets would be the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the restoration of normal shipping flows through the critical energy corridor.

Without that, the use of strategic reserves, rerouted exports and other emergency measures may provide only limited relief to global oil markets already under severe pressure.