G7 Agrees to Hold Oil Reserves Amid Middle East Crisis

On Monday, March 9, as crude oil prices breached $119 per barrel and global markets reeled from the largest energy supply disruption in modern history, finance ministers from the Group of Seven industrialized nations convened an emergency video call to discuss a question that could reshape the global economy: Should the world's wealthiest democracies crack open their strategic petroleum reserves?

Their answer, for now, was no.

French Finance Minister Roland Lescure, who chaired the meeting from Paris as France holds the rotating G7 presidency, told reporters the group was "not there yet" on a coordinated release [1]. But he added a critical qualifier: "What we've agreed upon is to use any necessary tools, if need be, to stabilise the market, including the potential release of necessary stockpiles" [2]. The decision — or rather, the deliberate non-decision — has exposed fractures within the G7 over how to respond to an energy crisis unlike any the world has seen since the 1970s.

The Chokepoint That Strangled Global Oil

The crisis that brought the G7 to this precipice began on February 28, 2026, when joint military strikes by the United States and Israel against Iran — including the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei — triggered a cascade of retaliatory actions that effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz [3]. The narrow waterway between Iran and Oman, through which roughly 16 million barrels per day of crude oil, condensates, refined products, LPG, and naphtha normally flow, has been at a near-complete standstill for over a week [4].

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued warnings prohibiting vessel passage, and the threat was taken seriously. Tanker traffic initially dropped by approximately 70%, with over 150 ships anchoring outside the strait. Within days, traffic fell to near zero — only two outbound Iranian-flagged vessels were recorded in the most recent monitoring period, with no inbound crossings [5]. Major container shipping companies including Maersk, MSC, Hapag-Lloyd, and CMA CGM suspended all vessel crossings until further notice [6].

The scale of the disruption is staggering. According to analysis from energy consulting firm Rapidan, the U.S.-Iran war has triggered the biggest oil supply disruption in history — more than double the previous record set during the Suez Crisis of the 1950s, with approximately 20% of the world's oil supply cut off [7]. Iraq and Kuwait have already begun shutting in production, and analysts warn that the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia may follow if the strait remains closed [8].

Source: FRED / U.S. Energy Information Administration

Data as of Mar 10, 2026CSV

'Not There Yet': Inside the G7's Calculus

The G7's restraint in the face of such a dramatic supply shock requires explanation. Several factors shaped the decision to hold reserves in place.

First, there is the question of scale. U.S. officials reportedly believe that releasing between 300 and 400 million barrels from strategic reserves could help ease supply pressures and calm volatile markets [9]. But even 400 million barrels represents only about 25 days' worth of the disrupted Hormuz flows. If the strait remains closed for weeks or months — a scenario that grows more plausible with each passing day — a premature release could exhaust reserves without resolving the underlying supply gap.

Second, the reserves themselves are not what they once were. The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, by far the world's largest, currently holds approximately 416 million barrels — roughly 58% of its 714 million barrel capacity [10]. President Trump had pledged to refill the reserves "right to the top" upon taking office in January 2025, but more than a year later, aging infrastructure and limited congressional appropriations — just $171 million — have left the stockpile far short of that promise [11]. The salt caverns along the U.S. Gulf Coast that house the reserve are deteriorating; a 2016 Department of Energy report found at least 70% of the infrastructure was "exceeding its serviceable life," and the rapid drawdown during the 2022 Ukraine crisis caused further structural damage [12].

Japan holds the third-largest reserves globally, with approximately 470 million barrels of oil equivalent in storage as of December 2025, of which 260 million barrels belong to the Japanese government [13]. The United Kingdom reported 38 million barrels of crude and 30 million barrels of refined products as of late February [14]. Notably, Canada — a G7 member — does not maintain a strategic petroleum reserve at all, as a net oil exporter exempt from IEA stockpiling requirements [15].

Third, and perhaps most critically, is the question of coordination. Lescure emphasized that any reserve release "can only be effective if it is implemented in a coordinated manner" [2]. The International Energy Agency, which has orchestrated collective reserve releases five times since its creation in 1974, would need to lead such an effort. But reaching consensus among 31 IEA member countries, each with different reserve levels, economic vulnerabilities, and political pressures, takes time — time that markets may not afford.

A History of Emergency Releases — and Their Limits

If the G7 does eventually greenlight a coordinated release, it would be only the sixth in the IEA's 52-year history. Each previous episode offers lessons for the current crisis.

During Operation Desert Storm in 1991, the IEA authorized the release of 33.75 million barrels from the U.S. SPR as part of a broader international effort. The mere announcement helped calm markets, and prices moderated before most of the oil was physically delivered [16].

After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the IEA released 60 million barrels globally to offset Gulf of Mexico production losses. The action was swift but relatively modest in scale [17].

The 2011 Libya disruption triggered another 60 million barrel release, though some analysts criticized the move as too little, too late [17].

The most recent precedent came in 2022, when Russia's invasion of Ukraine prompted the largest coordinated release to date: 240 million barrels deployed in stages over several months. That release, combined with record U.S. domestic production, helped bring prices down from peaks above $120 per barrel — but it also drained the U.S. SPR to its lowest level since 1984 [18].

The current disruption dwarfs all previous triggers. The Hormuz closure affects roughly 16 million barrels per day, compared to approximately 1.5 million barrels per day lost during the Libya crisis and about 3 million barrels per day of Russian supply disrupted in 2022 [7]. Even a release matching the 2022 scale would cover barely 15 days of the current shortfall.

Markets on Edge

Source: GDELT Project

Data as of Mar 10, 2026CSV

The financial impact has been immediate and severe. Global oil prices surged by more than 25% in the first week of the conflict, with crude briefly touching $119 per barrel on Monday — levels not seen since the immediate aftermath of Russia's Ukraine invasion [19]. The benchmark freight rate for Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) hit an all-time high of $423,736 per day, a 94% increase from the previous Friday [6]. War risk insurance premiums for vessels transiting the Gulf quintupled, from roughly 0.2% of a ship's value to 1%, meaning insurance alone for a single voyage on a $100 million tanker jumped from $200,000 to $1 million [20].

The price surge moderated somewhat on Monday afternoon as reports of the G7's discussions — and the possibility of a 400-million-barrel release — filtered through markets. French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking to journalists en route to Cyprus, confirmed that "the use of strategic reserves is an envisaged option" and that a possible meeting of G7 leaders on the energy issue could take place later this week [21].

But energy analysts warn that a reserve release alone cannot substitute for the physical absence of Gulf crude. "Strategic reserves are a bridge, not a highway," said one senior IEA official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "They buy time for diplomacy and supply adjustment. If the Strait of Hormuz stays closed for months, no stockpile in the world is large enough."

The Inflation Specter

The oil shock arrives at a particularly vulnerable moment for the global economy. Central banks in the G7 nations had been cautiously moving toward interest rate cuts in 2026, encouraged by moderating inflation. That calculus is now in jeopardy.

The rough rule of thumb in energy economics is that a $10-per-barrel increase in oil prices translates to approximately a 25-cent rise in U.S. gasoline prices per gallon [22]. With WTI crude having risen roughly $48 per barrel from its pre-crisis level of approximately $71 on March 2 to the $119 peak, American consumers face potential gasoline price increases of more than $1 per gallon — a devastating blow to household budgets already strained by years of elevated prices and high interest rates.

The International Monetary Fund has historically estimated that sustained oil price shocks of this magnitude reduce global GDP growth by 0.5 to 1.5 percentage points, depending on duration and severity [22]. The European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve face an agonizing dilemma: oil-driven inflation cannot be cooled by raising interest rates — the supply of oil is indifferent to the federal funds rate — but allowing inflation to re-accelerate risks de-anchoring expectations that central banks have spent years trying to stabilize.

For energy-import-dependent economies like Japan and much of Europe, the shock is particularly acute. Japan imports virtually all of its crude oil, with a significant share transiting the Strait of Hormuz. European natural gas prices have also spiked, as LNG shipments from Qatar — the world's largest LNG exporter, whose shipments pass through the strait — have been disrupted alongside crude flows [4].

OPEC+ and the Supply Puzzle

Complicating the G7's calculations is the posture of OPEC+, which had entered 2026 with approximately 3.24 million barrels per day of voluntary production cuts in place [23]. The cartel had paused planned production increases for the first quarter of 2026, citing seasonal demand patterns. Before the crisis, the IEA had projected that the first quarter of 2026 would see one of the largest oversupply periods in recent years, with inventories potentially rising by up to 5 million barrels per day [24].

That surplus has now evaporated. The question facing OPEC+ members outside the Gulf — primarily those in Africa and, crucially, Russia — is whether they will ramp up production to fill the gap. Saudi Arabia and the UAE, whose own export capabilities are constrained by the Hormuz closure, cannot easily bring more oil to market even if they wanted to.

Non-OPEC+ producers, particularly the United States, Guyana, Canada, and Brazil, had been forecast to add roughly 1.6 million barrels per day of new supply in 2026 [25]. But scaling up production takes months, not days, and U.S. shale producers — burned by boom-and-bust cycles — have been reluctant to chase price spikes with aggressive drilling.

What Comes Next

The G7's decision to hold reserves while "standing ready" leaves the world in an uncomfortable limbo. Energy ministers from the group are scheduled to meet on Tuesday, March 10, to continue discussions, and a leaders-level summit on energy may follow later in the week [26].

Several scenarios are in play:

Quick resolution: If diplomatic channels — potentially involving China, which depends heavily on Gulf oil imports and has significant influence with Iran — produce a ceasefire or at least a reopening of the strait, prices could retreat sharply and no reserve release may be necessary. A single Greek-flagged tanker was reportedly spotted exiting the strait with its transponder off on Monday [27], a sign that some shipping may attempt to resume even under threat.

Coordinated release: The G7 and IEA authorize a release in the range of 300-400 million barrels, staggered over several months. This would mark the largest collective action in IEA history and could cap prices below $100, but it would leave reserves — particularly the U.S. SPR — dangerously depleted.

Prolonged crisis: The strait remains closed for months, reserves are gradually released but prove insufficient, and the world experiences a sustained energy shock comparable to the 1973 oil embargo — with global recession, surging inflation, and a fundamental reassessment of energy security architecture.

For now, the G7 is betting that the mere signal of readiness — the threat of 400 million barrels flooding the market — will be enough to restrain speculative excess and buy time for a diplomatic solution. It is a high-stakes wager. The Strait of Hormuz has been called the world's most important oil chokepoint. With it sealed shut, the G7's strategic reserves may be the only thing standing between a manageable crisis and an economic catastrophe — and the world's richest nations just decided to keep the lid on.