The International Energy Agency announced Wednesday that its 32 member countries unanimously agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves — the largest coordinated release in the organization's history and only the sixth time it has tapped reserves to stabilize markets. The announcement was confirmed by NPR, CNBC, Fox Business, the Washington Examiner, NBC News, PBS, and the IEA itself.

The release more than doubles the previous record of 182.7 million barrels coordinated in 2022 after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It comes as the Iran war has effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20 million barrels per day — about 25% of global seaborne oil trade — transited in 2025.

IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol stated that 'the most important thing for a return to stable flows of oil and gas is the resumption of transit through the Strait of Hormuz.' U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told Fox News the challenges in the strait are a 'temporary transit problem.'

Markets were unimpressed. Oil prices briefly dipped below $87 per barrel on the announcement, then climbed back above $90 by late Wednesday. NBC News headlined that the 'major, multi-country oil release deal fails to bring down petroleum prices.' KPMG analyst Angie Gildea noted that strategic reserves 'provide some relief at the margins, but they are not structural solutions.'

The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve currently holds 415 million of its 715-million-barrel capacity, having been partially depleted during the 2022 Ukraine crisis.