Amid the conflict in the Middle East and the sharp rise in energy prices associated with it, members of the International Energy Agency (IEA) have decided to release a record volume of oil from their national reserves. The 32 member states of the IEA unanimously agreed to supply 400 million barrels of crude oil from their emergency reserves to the market. The organization announced this after an extraordinary meeting held in Paris on Wednesday, March 11.

According to the IEA, several countries will also take additional emergency measures. “The challenges we face in the oil market are unprecedented in scale,” said the agency’s head, Fatih Birol. Oil markets are global, and therefore the response to major disruptions must also be global, he added.

According to the news agency dpa, such a large volume of oil has never before been released during a coordinated action by IEA countries. The move is intended to stabilize markets that are currently under severe pressure due to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 percent of global oil trade passes.

Germany will release nearly 20 million barrels of oil Germany, in particular, announced plans to release 19.5 million barrels of oil from its national reserves. In addition, gas stations in Germany have been allowed to increase fuel prices only once per day, Economy Minister Katherina Reiche announced on March 11.

These measures have been discussed in recent days among IEA and G7 countries in response to the oil shortage on global markets. IEA countries — which include members of the Group of Seven — hold more than 1.2 billion barrels of strategic oil reserves. In addition, there are about 600 million barrels of industrial reserves.

Germany’s oil reserves exceed 30 million tons National oil reserves ensure sufficient supplies of oil for vehicle fuel production, heating, and industrial needs in the event of conflicts or disasters. The European Union and the IEA require their members to maintain oil reserves equivalent to at least 90 days of imports.

According to the IEA, in November 2025 Germany stored 34.42 million tons of oil.