Canada and a group of dozens of other countries have agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil from their strategic reserves as the Iran war threatens the global supply.
The International Energy Agency (IEA), which comprises Canada and 31 other member nations, made the announcement in a release Wednesday after it said a meeting was conducted “to assess market conditions amid the conflict in the Middle East and consider the options to address supply disruptions.”
The IEA said it’s the sixth time such a co-ordinated stock release has been done since the organization was created in 1974.
“The oil market challenges we are facing are unprecedented in scale, therefore I am very glad that IEA Member countries have responded with an emergency collective action of unprecedented size,” IEA executive director Fatih Birol said in a release.
“Oil markets are global so the response to major disruptions needs to be global too. Energy security is the founding mandate of the IEA, and I am pleased that IEA Members are showing strong solidarity in taking decisive action together.”
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Iran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz shipping route by threatening any vessels that attempt to pass through the narrow channel separating the Persian Gulf from global shipping routes. About 20 to 25 per cent of the world’s oil supply relies on the strait being open to shipping traffic.
According to the IEA, its members hold emergency stockpiles of more than 1.2 billion barrels of oil, with an additional 600 million of industry stocks held under government obligation.
“The conflict in the Middle East that began on Feb. 28, 2026 has impeded oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, with export volumes of crude and refined products currently at less than 10 per cent of pre-conflict levels,” the IEA said in the release.
“This is forcing operators across the region to shut in or curtail a substantial amount of production.”
Earlier on Wednesday, a spokesperson from Iran’s military warned that the global price of oil could reach US$200 per barrel as the conflict wages on.
Oil prices reached nearly $120 a barrel on Monday, before cooling down slightly. As of publication, the price was just below $90, and up from about $64 in the days before the conflict began.
On Monday, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne told reporters there would be “further consultation” before taking action to calm oil market concerns, including releasing strategic oil reserves.
“It’s very volatile,” he said. “I mean, what we’re all ensuring is that there would be a sufficient stock, obviously, to meet the demand.”
The IEA statement said it will “continue to closely monitor global oil and gas markets” and provide further recommendations for governments in its organization as needed.
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