The International Energy Agency (IEA) said on the 15th (local time) that stockpiled oil in Asia would be released immediately.
In a news release that day, the IEA said it had received implementation plans for releasing stockpiles from member countries, adding, "Stockpiled oil from Asia-Oceania member countries will be released immediately, and member countries in the Americas and Europe plan to begin releases at the end of March."
Earlier, the IEA decided to release about 400 million barrels from strategic reserves to ease the oil shock caused by the Middle East war.
Bloomberg explained that because Asian buyers rely most heavily on Middle Eastern oil, the speed of releases in this region is important.
IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said on X (formerly Twitter) that day, "Member countries have confirmed their contributions to our largest-ever release of stockpiled oil," adding, "From the 16th, an unprecedented additional volume of oil will enter the market."
At the same time, "Keeping the Strait of Hormuz open is critical to returning to a stable flow," he said.
A total of 411.9 million barrels will be released worldwide, including 271.7 million barrels of government stockpiles, 116.6 million barrels of mandatory industry volumes, and 23.6 million barrels of others. The split is 72% crude oil and 28% petroleum products.
By region, crude oil will be released in the Americas from 172.2 million barrels of government stockpiles and 23.6 million barrels of others.
In Asia-Oceania, a total of 108.6 million barrels—66.8 million barrels of government stockpiles and 41.8 million barrels of mandatory industry volumes—consists of 60% crude oil and 40% petroleum products.
In Europe, 32.7 million barrels of government volumes and 74.8 million barrels of industry volumes will be released at a ratio of 32% crude oil to 68% petroleum products.
On the 11th, the IEA decided on the sixth-ever joint release of stockpiled oil. The first time the IEA decided to release strategic reserves was during the Gulf War in 1991, when the release volume was only about 25 million barrels, and after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in Feb. 2022, it released a total of 182.7 million barrels in two rounds, 62.7 million barrels and 120 million barrels, respectively.
This release, totaling 411.9 million barrels, is the largest ever. The IEA said, "This Middle East war is causing the most significant supply disruption in the history of the global oil market," adding, "While this emergency joint response will serve as a major buffer, the most important factor is the resumption of regular shipments through the Strait of Hormuz."
It added, "To that end, an appropriate insurance framework and physical protection for transport will be key to restarting flows."