Letter from London: The oil market should panic tomorrow

Emergency oil stocks provide a last line of defence to oil market shocks, so the IEA’s unprecedented 400m bl release represents something of a double-edged sword

Oil security has been at the core of the IEA’s mission since its 1974 founding—itself a direct response to the 1973 oil crisis. The shock exposed the vulnerability of oil‑importing nations to sudden supply disruptions and led IEA member countries—almost all of which are OECD members—to design a collective emergency system built on mandatory strategic oil stocks. This system now faces its ultimate stress test. With the Middle East war dragging on, the Strait of Hormuz still effectively closed, production from Gulf states starting to be shut in and product shortages beginning to emerge in pockets around the globe, the IEA initiated the largest emergency oil stock release in its history, with m