The International Energy Agency (IEA) has proposed to release its largest volume of oil reserves to stabilize the market amid the conflict in the Middle East, The Wall Street Journal reported.
According to the publication, the proposal of the agency, established in 1974, exceeds the 182 million barrels it released in 2022. A decision on this issue is expected on March 11. For the proposal to be approved, the publication notes, none of the 32 member countries must raise objections.
On Wednesday, the head of the agency, Fatih Birol, noted that IEA member countries hold more than 1.2 billion barrels of state emergency oil reserves, as well as 600 million barrels of industrial reserves.
Earlier, CNBC, citing data from the consulting firm Rapidan Energy Group, reported that the closure of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz amid the US and Israeli military operation against Iran has caused the largest disruption to global oil supplies in history.
The tension in the Strait of Hormuz has led to a disruption affecting approximately 20% of global oil supplies. Previously, the largest disruption was recorded during the Suez Crisis of 1956, which affected approximately 10% of global oil exports. The 1990-1991 Gulf War affected 9% of supplies.
On March 2, Major General Ebrahim Jabari of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that the Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately one-fifth of the world's oil exports pass, would be closed to shipping due to the Israeli and American military operation against the republic.
On March 5, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that the strait was not closed and that ships, including tankers, were not trying to cross it for fear of attacks from either side.