The International Energy Agency’s 32 member nations unanimously agreed on Wednesday to a coordinated release of 400 million barrels from their emergency crude oil stockpiles in an effort to restrain soaring global prices as the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran entered the 12th day.
The release is designed to replace approximately 20 to 26 days of shipments supplied to world markets through the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Paris-based International Energy Agency, founded in 1974 in response to the 1973-1974 oil crisis.
In the first six months of 2025, approximately 21 million barrels of oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz each day, equivalent to about 20% of the world’s petroleum liquids consumption.
“Oil markets are global so the response to major disruptions needs to be global too,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. “Energy security is the founding mandate of the IEA, and I am pleased that IEA Members are showing strong solidarity in taking decisive action together,” Birol said.
The U.S., with approximately 415 million barrels of oil in its Strategic Petroleum Reserve, has the largest stockpile among the 32 IEA member nations, followed by Japan with 260 million government-held barrels and France with 120 million barrels in its state emergency reserve. In total, IEA member nations hold approximately 1.2 billion barrels in reserves.
Three commercial vessels traversing the Persian Gulf were struck by projectiles on Wednesday, with one sustaining significant damage.
U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a Fox News interview early Wednesday that it’s “the perfect time to think about releasing” strategic reserves “to take some pressure off global oil prices.” Burgum said he did not believe the world is facing an energy shortage, however.
“We’ve got a transit problem, which is temporary,” Burgum said. “You have a temporary transit problem that we’re resolving militarily and diplomatically, which we can resolve and will resolve.”
Burgum said in an interview on CNBC Wednesday afternoon that President Donald Trump will ultimately decide whether the U.S. contributes to the oil release. Burgum added that U.S. oil companies will soon announce increased production.
“I think what you’re hearing out of the IEA today is reasonable on their part, but clearly, whether the U.S. participates is up to President Trump, he’ll make the final decision on that,” Burgum said on CNBC.
As of 3:45 PM ET, neither the White House nor the Department of Energy had provided statements on the amount of oil the U.S. would contribute to the IEA’s planned release.
The 400 million-barrel release is more than double the previous record of 182 million barrels, which occurred in March 2022 shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine when European benchmark Brent crude oil prices reached $124 a barrel and then remained range-bound for months between $100 per barrel and $120 per barrel.
Separately, in that same year, the U.S. released an additional 180 million barrels from its own Strategic Petroleum Reserve to further stabilize prices as benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures surpassed $120 per barrel in June 2022.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures traded late afternoon Wednesday at $87.52 per barrel, up $4.07 or 4.9% as the price remained near $90 per barrel for the second consecutive day after soaring to almost $120 per barrel on Monday.
European benchmark Brent crude oil settled Wednesday at $87.80 per barrel after trading earlier in the day as high as $93.25 per barrel.
The IEA previously released oil reserves collectively in 1991, 2005, 2011 and twice in 2022.
The U.S. Strategic Petroeleum Reserve is held oil predominantly in underground salt caverns in Louisiana and Texas.
