The United States will release 172 million barrels of oil from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve in an effort to ease rising energy prices triggered by supply disruptions linked to the conflict involving Iran, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Wednesday.
The measure forms part of a coordinated international effort led by the International Energy Agency, which earlier announced that its 32 member nations had agreed to release a combined 400 million barrels of crude to stabilize global markets.
According to Wright, the U.S. release will begin next week and will take roughly 120 days to complete. The move is intended to cushion the global economy from the sharp price increases that followed escalating hostilities in the Middle East.
The conflict intensified after the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28. Tehran has responded with attacks targeting Israel and Gulf states hosting U.S. military bases, raising concerns about broader regional instability.
Markets were further rattled when Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned it could block oil shipments passing through the Gulf unless the military campaign stops. The threat to critical energy routes has heightened fears of supply disruptions in one of the world’s most important oil-producing regions.
President Donald Trump earlier indicated that Washington was considering adjustments to the strategic reserve levels as oil prices surged in response to the conflict.
The Energy Department said the government intends to replenish the reserve in the coming year, planning to acquire roughly 200 million barrels to replace a large portion of the released stockpile.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve, maintained in underground storage facilities along the U.S. Gulf Coast, is the world’s largest emergency oil supply and is designed to protect the country and its allies from major disruptions in energy markets.