The International Energy Agency announced on March 11 that members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development would release 400 million barrels of oil from emergency stockpiles.

The IEA's 400 million barrel release is relatively small, only accounting for about three weeks of oil shipped through the Strait of Hormuz and less than four days of the global oil supply. Prior to the announcement, Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said her country would unilaterally release oil from its stockpiles as early as March 16 to cover about 200 days' worth of imports at a level that would be equivalent to one month of consumption. She added that 15 more days of consumption would be released from private sector stocks. Additionally, Saudi Arabia is rerouting about 5 million barrels per day through Red Sea ports.