In its half-century of existence, the International Energy Agency has never taken emergency action on the scale it was forced to deploy on March 11, according to IEA chief Fatih Birol. The release of 400 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves was not just a record — it was a demonstration of just how serious the global energy crisis caused by the Iran war had become. Speaking in Canberra, Birol said the move reflected the agency’s assessment that the crisis was equivalent in total force to the 1970s twin oil shocks and the Ukraine gas disruption combined.
The IEA was founded in 1974 in direct response to the Arab oil embargo of 1973, with a mandate to protect member nations from energy supply disruptions. In the fifty years since its founding, it has faced numerous crises — including the 1979 oil shock, the Gulf War, and the Ukraine conflict — but none that required action on the scale of the current response. Birol said the scale of the March 11 release was a direct reflection of the unprecedented severity of the Iran crisis.
The conflict began February 28 with US and Israeli strikes on Iran and has since removed 11 million barrels of oil per day and 140 billion cubic metres of gas from world markets. At least 40 Gulf energy assets have been severely damaged, and the Strait of Hormuz — through which approximately 20 percent of global oil flows — remains closed. These combined disruptions dwarf every previous energy emergency in the agency’s history.
Birol confirmed that the initial release represented just 20 percent of available stocks and that further deployments were under active consideration. He also called for demand-side measures including remote working, lower speed limits, and fewer flights. The IEA chief said consultations with governments across Europe, Asia, and North America about the appropriate scale and timing of any further action were ongoing.
Iran threatened retaliatory strikes on US and allied energy and water infrastructure after Trump’s ultimatum expired. Birol met with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and called for sustained international engagement. He said the founding generation of IEA leaders who built the agency after 1973 would have recognized both the magnitude of the current crisis and the imperative to respond with everything the agency had.
IEA history emergency, March 11 reserve release