To address high oil prices, the International Energy Agency (IEA) proposed releasing national oil reserves at a special meeting. It would be the largest release of such reserves in the history of the IEA.
Mar 11, 2026, 9:25 a.mMar 11, 2026, 9:25 a.m
The oil price of the benchmark Brent crude exceeded the critical threshold of $100 per barrel on Monday. Image: keystone
In view of the prospect of a prolonged war in the Middle East, the price of oil temporarily exceeded the critical $100 per barrel mark on Monday. It was the highest level since the summer of 2022. As a result, the stock markets sank.
Since Monday, both variables have eased somewhat again: On Tuesday, the price of oil began to fall slightly; on Wednesday morning it was at $89 per barrel (still very high under normal circumstances). Before the Iran war, the price was $72 per barrel. Share prices have also recently stabilized again.
Note: The data shows average prices over the respective day.
The signs of relaxation came after Donald Trump made a statement about the war in Iran “would end soon”. Reports from the IEA meeting on Tuesday evening also helped. Like that Wall Street Journal reportsit was suggested that member states should release their emergency reserves. The proposed release would therefore exceed the 182 million barrels that the member states released in two tranches in 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It would be the largest release in the history of the IEA.
The 32 member countries of the IEA have 1.2 billion barrels (159 liters each) of emergency oil reserves. There are also 600 million barrels of industrial stocks, according to the Paris-based organization.
States release their strategic oil reserves in crisis situations in order to stabilize the oil market or respond to supply bottlenecks. This remedy is rarely used. According to the IEA, this has already happened five times in a coordinated manner since it was founded over 50 years ago.
Whether this plan is put into practice depends on the decision of the respective member states. On Monday, the group of seven leading industrial nations (G7) asked the IEA to develop scenarios for the release of emergency oil stocks.
The member states are expected to decide on this on Wednesday. The proposal could be delayed if a single country objects.
Saudi Aramco warns of “catastrophe”
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s state oil company warned of “catastrophic consequences” for the global oil marketsthe US and Israel’s war against Iran should continue to block shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
The world’s largest oil exporter assumes that it can supply the market with around 70 percent of its usual crude oil production despite the blockage of this important trade route. If the quasi-blockade were to last longer, the Saudi Aramco CEO warned, it would still have drastic consequences for the global economy.
“While we have faced disruptions in the past, this is by far the largest crisis the region’s oil and gas industry has ever faced.”
Amin Nasser, Saudi Aramco CEO
Saudi Aramco now hopes to meet demand for oil by transporting it via the Saudi east-west pipeline to the Red Sea port of Yanbu. It could ultimately be shipped to buyers from the city in Medina province in western Saudi Arabia.
The company plans to increase pipeline deliveries to its full capacity of seven million barrels per day in the next few days, it said. About two million barrels per day are delivered to Saudi Arabia’s refineries in the west of the country, leaving five million barrels per day for the global crude oil market. According to the British “Guardian”, this corresponds to around 70 percent of the kingdom’s usual exports.
Thanks, among other things, to the use of crude oil reserves outside the Gulf region, Saudi Aramco can now serve the majority of its customers, said CEO Nasser. However, these stocks cannot be used “for a longer period of time, but we are benefiting from them for the time being.”
(lak, with material from AWP and SDA)