The member countries of the International Energy Agency will release 400 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves onto the market. The measure aims to mitigate disruptions in the oil markets, caused by the conflict in the Middle East, reports IPN.

The decision was unanimously adopted by all 32 member states, following an extraordinary meeting convened to analyze the developments of the energy market in the context of escalating regional tensions.

“The challenges faced by the oil market are unprecedented in scale, which is why I am very pleased that the member states of the IEA have responded with an unprecedented collective emergency action,” declared the Executive Director of the IEA, Fatih Birol.

According to the institution, the oil will be made available to the market at a pace adapted to the national circumstances of each state and can be supplemented by other emergency measures adopted at the national level.

The member states of the IEA hold strategic reserves of over 1.2 billion barrels of oil, to which are added approximately 600 million barrels of industrial stocks, kept on the basis of governmental obligations.

Previously, the Group of Seven countries announced that they are prepared to take measures to support global energy supply, against the backdrop of a sharp increase in oil prices, caused by the American-Israeli conflict with Iran. The finance ministers discussed on Monday, during the forum meeting, the possibility of releasing volumes of oil from strategic reserves.