IEA confirms Member country contributions to collective action to release oil stocks in response to Middle East disruptions

This is the sixth time that IEA Member countries have taken emergency collective action to support oil markets in the history of the IEA, which was created in 1974. Previous collective actions were taken in 1991, 2005, 2011, and twice in 2022.

The war in the Middle East is creating the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market. The IEA emergency collective action, by far the largest ever, provides a significant and welcome buffer. But the most important factor in ensuring a return to stable flows is the resumption of regular transit of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Adequate insurance mechanisms and physical protection for shipping are key to the resumption of flows.

For further information, the latest remarks by IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol are available here, and the IEA's most recent monthly Oil Market Report, published on 12 March and freely available in full for all readers, is available here.