Originally published on DropThe.org.
Photo by Ian on Unsplash
400M bbl
Largest Reserve Release in History
27 days
Australia Reserves After Release
124 days
Japan Reserves After Release
On March 11, all 32 IEA member nations agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves. It is the largest coordinated draw in the IEA’s 50-year history — more than double the 2022 response to Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine, and nearly seven times the amount released during the 2011 Libya crisis.
The reason: Iran‘s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz removed roughly 16 million barrels per day from global transit. Only 7 vessels are transiting daily compared to a normal 100+. Oil at $119 was the trigger. The reserve release was the emergency brake.
But emergency brakes wear down. We calculated how many days of supply each participating country has left after giving up its share, and the numbers explain why this response can only happen once.
The DropThe Reserve Runway Index 2026
For each country: pre-release stockpile minus barrels released, divided by daily oil consumption. The result is how long reserves last at current burn rates before the tank hits zero.
Reserve Runway = (Pre-Release Reserves - Amount Released) / Daily Consumption
The IEA requires member nations to hold 90 days of net import coverage. After this release, most of Europe fails that test.
Who Released What
| Country | Released (M bbl) | Share of Total |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 172.0 | 42% |
| Japan | 80.0 | 19% |
| Canada | 23.6 | 6% |
| South Korea | 22.5 | 5% |
| Germany | 19.7 | 5% |
| France | 14.5 | 4% |
| United Kingdom | 13.5 | 3% |
| Italy | 9.0 | 2% |
| Australia | ~5.0 | 1% |
| Other 23 IEA members | ~52.0 | 13% |
| Total | ~411.9 | 100% |
The United States shouldered 42% of the total — 172 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, pushing the SPR to its lowest level since 1984. Japan committed 80 million barrels, the largest draw in Japanese history. South Korea‘s 22.5 million barrels was a record for KNOC. The G7 accounted for roughly 70% of all barrels released.
The Runway: Days Remaining After the Release
This is an excerpt. Read the full analysis with charts and data on DropThe.org
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