Global energy body convenes summit on unlocking emergency oil reserves

BRUSSELS — The head of the International Energy Agency on Tuesday summoned an extraordinary meeting to decide whether to tap millions of barrels of emergency oil supplies amid soaring energy costs.

The meeting, to be held at an undisclosed time on Tuesday, will “assess the current security of supply and market conditions to inform a subsequent decision on whether to make emergency stocks of IEA countries available to the market,” the agency’s chief, Fatih Birol, said in an emailed statement.

The IEA’s 31 members — mostly advanced Western economies — have grown increasingly panicked as Iran and a U.S.-Israeli coalition trade airstrikes, imperilling critical supply chains and energy infrastructure across the Gulf. Merchant shipping has also abandoned the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for 20 percent of the world’s energy trade, prompting fears of price spikes.

The IEA’s members have yet to coordinate on measures to address the crisis, citing uncertainty over how long the war will last.

Benchmark oil prices skyrocketed to over $100 a barrel in the first week of the war, before settling at $88 on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump implied that the conflict was nearing a conclusion.

Member countries currently hold over 1.2 billion barrels of emergency oil supplies as well as a further 600 million held under government obligation, Birol said.