US Releases 172 Million Barrels from Emergency Oil Reserve to Combat Iran War Impact
The United States Government has officially announced that it will release 172 million barrels of crude oil from its strategic emergency reserve beginning the following week. This extraordinary measure is being taken as an emergency response to combat the surge in global energy prices triggered by the escalating military conflict between the US-Israel alliance and Iran in the Middle East region.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright stated that Washington’s action forms part of a coordinated collective effort led by the International Energy Agency (IEA). In total, 32 IEA member countries will release 400 million barrels of oil onto the global market to maintain supply stability.
The release of 400 million barrels represents the largest intervention ever undertaken by the IEA since its establishment. This figure exceeds a similar intervention in 2022 at the onset of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The process of releasing America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is estimated to take approximately 120 days. This measure is expected to increase supply liquidity in the international market, which is currently experiencing shortages due to distribution disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf region.
In his formal statement, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright accused Tehran of deliberately using energy commodities as a political weapon. He asserted that under President Trump’s leadership, the United States will not allow the energy security of its allies to be threatened.
“They (Iran) have manipulated and threatened the energy security of America and its allies. Such times will soon end,” Wright stated on Wednesday, 11 March 2026.
Beyond the United States, advanced nations within the G7, including Japan, South Korea, and several European countries, have also expressed their readiness to inject their own public oil reserves. The IEA currently records that the total public emergency oil reserves of its member states exceed 1.2 billion barrels.
Japan’s Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama disclosed that G7 leaders and energy ministers conducted intensive virtual meetings to discuss the technical aspects of this reserve release. Coordination was undertaken to ensure this market intervention would have the most effective impact on reducing retail prices.
“If we are to do this, we must do it in the most effective way. There are still questions about when, where, and how to coordinate it overall,” Katayama told reporters in Tokyo.