IEA To Release 400 Mn Barrels From Emergency Oil Reserves; Japan, Germany Join Effort

Last Updated:March 11, 2026, 20:00 IST

Japan and Germany will release oil reserves amid supply disruptions. Japan's PM announced a release by March 16, while Germany confirmed a partial release.

Japan and Germany have announced their decision to release oil reserves. Tokyo said it would begin release by March 16. This came following Energy Agency’s set 400 million barrels of oil will be released.

Reuters quoted Germany’s Economy Minister Katherina Reiche saying that the country will partially release its oil reserves.

“The ‌situation ⁠regarding oil supplies is tense, as the Strait of Hormuz is currently virtually impassable," she said while adding that the United States and ​Japan would be the largest contributors to the release of the oil reserves.

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According to a statement from the ministry, Germany will contribute 2.64 million ​tonnes of oil.

This comes after the Energy Agency on Wednesday recommended the release of 400 million ​barrels of oil from stockpiles, which is the largest in IEA history.

“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.

According to a statement by the IEA, “The 32-member countries of the Energy Agency unanimously agreed today to make 400 million barrels of oil from their emergency reserves available to the market to address disruptions in oil markets stemming from the war in the Middle East."

NBC News quoted the IEA saying that collectively, member countries hold emergency stockpiles of more than 1.2 billion barrels.

On Tuesday, the G7 energy ministers had held a virtual meeting to discuss a possible release of oil reserves to address the supply disruption triggered by the Iran war.

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“We will comply with this request and contribute our share, because Germany stands behind the IEA’s ​most important principle: ​mutual solidarity," Reiche ⁠said about the IEA’s request.

The IEA’s decision came as countries are ​struggling with soaring crude prices amid the US-Israeli war with Iran.

Meanwhile, Kyodo News quoted Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi saying that they will release 15 days’ worth of reserves held by the private sector and then one month’s worth of government-held oil. She said that the oil reserves will be released by next Monday.

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According to Kyodo News, this will be the first time Japan has released its government oil reserves individually, not in an internationally coordinated way, since the stockpiling of oil began in 1978.

Takaichi said Japan’s dependency for crude oil on the Middle East is “prominently high" in comparison to other countries and imports may “significantly drop late this month or later," necessitating measures to prevent a disruption to the supply of gasoline and other petroleum items.

She further said that the average price of domestic retail gasoline could surpass 200 yen ($1.26) per litre but the government aims to keep the price at around 170 yen.

“We will flexibly review the support measures to ensure continuous relief for the public even if the (Middle Eastern) situation is prolonged," Takaichi said.

Crude prices have surged sharply since the conflict escalated in the Gulf region, raising concerns about a fresh inflation shock and risks to global economic growth.

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