وكالة الطاقة الدولية تطلق أكبر إطلاق طارئ للنفط لتخفيض الأسعار

However, it would only amount to around three or four days' worth of global supply or roughly a fortnight's worth of what would normally be shipped out of the Strait of Hormuz.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) and its member nations have agreed to release a record 400 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves in an attempt to stabilize global energy markets as the war involving Iran continues to disrupt crude flows through the Strait of Hormuz. The coordinated action, announced Wednesday by the IEA, represents the largest emergency oil release ever organized by the group and only the sixth such intervention since the IEA was created following the 1970s oil shocks. The move comes as tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which serves as the critical chokepoint for roughly 20% of global oil and LNG trade, has slowed sharply amid escalating military activity in the Gulf. IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol described the decision as a “major action” aimed at easing the supply shock now hitting global energy markets, according to reporting by NPR. Member countries collectively control roughly 1.8 billion barrels of emergency stockpiled crude and refined fuels that can be deployed during severe disruptions to global supply. Precise allocations from each country have not yet been announced, though the release will draw from reserves held by the IEA’s 32 member states including the United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada and most European economies. Association partners such as China and India are expected to monitor the situation closely as markets attempt to stabilize. Oil prices have swung wildly since the conflict escalated, climbing from roughly $70 per barrel before the war to nearly $120 during the height of supply fears before retreating toward the $90 range on Wednesday, as Washington attempted to quell fears of a protracted war. The intervention follows days of uncertainty over whether major consuming nations would tap emergency reserves. Earlier this week, G7 finance ministers had delayed a decision on releasing strategic oil stocks while assessing the severity of the supply disruption. The United States holds the world’s largest government-controlled crude stockpile in its Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which currently contains about 415 million barrels out of a maximum capacity of 715 million. According to the latest industry estimates, U.S. commercial crude inventories fell by 1.7 million barrels in the week ending March 6 while SPR volumes remained unchanged. The emergency action is designed to offset the sudden loss of millions of barrels per day of crude shipments normally transiting the Strait of Hormuz as the conflict continues to destabilize energy trade routes across the Gulf. By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com

The International Energy Agency has ordered the largest release of government oil reserves in its history to help calm the oil price shock triggered by the US-Israeli attacks on Iran. The world’s energy watchdog said its 32 members had agreed unanimously to release about 400m barrels of emergency crude, a third of the group’s total government stockpiles and more than double the IEA’s previous biggest release. The emergency intervention far outstrips the 2022 release of 182m barrels of oil by IEA countries after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The body’s executive director, Fatih Birol, said: “Oil markets are global so the response to major disruptions needs to be global, too. 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.” The IEA said the emergency stocks would be made available to the global market, which has lost about 15m barrels of crude a day because of a block on trade via the strait of Hormuz, over a timeframe appropriate to the national circumstances of each member, bolstered by supplementary emergency measures from some countries. The UK promised to release 13.5m barrels from its emergency stocks. The country held 120 days’ worth of oil stocks at the end of last year, although 100% of this was held by companies in the industry under an agreement with the government. The stocks are held in refineries, oil terminals, power stations and at offshore fields in the North Sea. About 15% of the stockpile is held in overseas countries, including the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, said her country, which relies on the strait of Hormuz for about 70% of its oil imports, would “act first” to release about 80m barrels from its private and national oil reserves from 18 March to help calm global oil markets. Neighbouring South Korea will release 22.46m barrels. Germany’s economy minister, Katherina Reiche, told reporters in Berlin that the German government would release the equivalent of 19.51m barrels. “We will comply with this request and contribute our share, because Germany stands behind the IEA’s most important principle: mutual solidarity,” Reiche said. The historic market intervention will deliver the equivalent of about 26 days of crude typically transported via the vital oil trade artery, where movements have ground to a halt because of the threat of attack from Tehran. At least 13 commercial vessels have come under attack in the region since the war began, including three on Wednesday as Iran’s military said the world should be prepared for oil to hit $200 (£149) a barrel. Members of the IEA, which was set up after the Middle East oil crisis in the 1970s, are required to hold at least 90 days’ worth of crude supplies in reserve, which can be released to the market in the event of a supply shock. In total, its members hold more than 1.2bn barrels of public emergency oil stocks and a further 600m barrels of stocks held by industry under government obligation. Although no G7 countries have faced physical shortages of oil since the war began last month, the price of Brent crude has fluctuated wildly, briefly jumping as high as $119.50 a barrel on Monday, which took it to levels not seen since 2022. The price of Brent crude rose nearly 4% to just over $91 a barrel on Wednesday, suggesting investors were still concerned about future supplies. The proposed 400m-barrel release is the equivalent of about four days of global production and 16 days of the volume of crude that transits through the Gulf, Macquarie analysts estimated.