The member states of the International Energy Agency (IEA) have agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil from their emergency stocks to stabilise the market in the wake of the conflict in the Middle East. The announcement was made at a press conference by the agency's executive director Fatih Birol.

„Following discussions among IEA members, I can now report that IEA countries have unanimously decided to launch the largest release of emergency oil stocks in the history of our Agency. IEA countries will release 400 million barrels of oil to the market to compensate for the supply shortfall caused by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz,“ uvedl.

The Executive Director of the Agency also recalled that this was the fifth time that the Member States of the Organisation had decided to use their strategic reserves. The first time was during the Gulf War 1991, when an international coalition led primarily by the United States fought against Iraq.

According to a statement published on the organisation's website, emergency stocks will be released on the market within a timeframe appropriate to the national circumstances of each member country. In addition, some countries will take other emergency measures.

In total, the organisation's 32 member countries hold around 1.2 billion barrels of oil in strategic reserves and a further 600 million barrels in industrial company reserves as part of their national commitments.

Televize CNBC on Tuesday, citing data from the consultancy Rapidan Energy Group said the halt in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz as a result of the US-Israeli military operation against Iran had caused the biggest disruption to global oil supplies in history. Tensions in the Strait region have affected approximately 20 % of global oil supplies.

The largest supply disruption to date was recorded during Suezská krize 1956, when about 10 % of world oil exports were affected. Gulf War 1990-1991 then disrupted approximately 9 % of global supply.

gnews.cz - GH