PARIS, March 11. /TASS/. The International Energy Agency (IEA) member countries have agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil from their emergency stocks to stabilize the market amid the conflict in the Middle East, the agency’s executive director Fatih Birol announced at a press conference.

"As a result of the discussions among IEA members I can now announce that IEA countries have unanimously decided to launch the largest ever release of emergency oil stocks in our agency’s history. IEA countries will be making 400 million barrels of oil available to the market to offset the supply lost through the effective closure of the Strait [of Hormuz]| he said.

The agency's executive director noted that this is the fifth time the organization's members have decided to use their reserves. The first time was during the 1991 Gulf War, when an international coalition, primarily comprised of US forces, fought against Iraq.

According to a statement published on the organization's website, "the emergency stocks will be made available to the market over a timeframe that is appropriate to the national circumstances of each member country and will be supplemented by additional emergency measures by some countries."

The organization's 32 member countries hold a total of 1.2 billion barrels of oil reserves and 600 million barrels of industrial company stockpiles, which they hold as part of their national obligations.

On Tuesday, CNBC reported citing data from the consulting firm Rapidan Energy Group that the closure of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz amid the US and Israeli military operation against Iran has caused the largest disruption in global oil supplies in history. Tensions in the Strait of Hormuz have disrupted approximately 20% of global oil supplies.

The largest disruption before this occurred during the 1956 Suez Crisis, which affected approximately 10% of global oil exports. The 1990-1991 Gulf War disrupted 9% of supplies.

On March 2, Major General Ebrahim Jabari of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC, the elite unit of the Iranian Armed Forces) warned that the Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately one-fifth of the world's oil exports passes, would be closed to shipping due to Israeli and US military action against Iran. On March 5, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that the strait was not closed, and that ships and tankers were not attempting to cross it for fear of attacks from both sides.