The US will release 172 million barrels of oil from its strategic petroleum reserve in a bid to reduce oil prices that have soared due to supply shocks from the US-Israeli war on Iran, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Wednesday. Wright said the release is part of a broader release of 400 million barrels of oil agreed to by the 32-nation International Energy Agency earlier in the day. Wright said the release will begin next week and will take about 120 days to deliver. Iran has responded with its own strikes on Israel ‌and Gulf ⁠countries with US bases. "The United States has arranged to more than replace these strategic reserves with approximately 200 million barrels within the next year," the US energy secretary said in a statement.

Source: The Telegraph March 12, 2026 06:24 UTC