International Energy Agency orders largest ever release of stockpiled oil

A thick plume of smoke rises from an oil storage facility hit by a US-Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran. Picture: Vahid Salemi/AP Photo.

The International Energy Agency has ordered the largest release of government oil reserves in its history to help calm the oil price shock triggered by the US-Israeli attacks on Iran.

The world’s energy watchdog said its 32 members had agreed unanimously to release about 400m barrels of emergency crude, a third of the group’s total government stockpiles and more than double the IEA’s previous biggest release.