Spain urgently empties its reserves, 11.5 million barrels of strategic stock released to the market as Hormuz supply disruption impact emerges

Spanish Minister for Ecological Transition, Agerson, announced at a press conference on Tuesday that, in response to the partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz causing an oil supply shortage, the government has approved the release of up to 11.5 million barrels of oil reserves within 90 days. Agerson explained that this release action is in line with the International Energy Agency's coordinated plan to release up to 400 million barrels of oil and will be carried out in stages, with the first phase set to begin in 15 days. This move marks the first time a European country has publicly used strategic reserves to alleviate physical crude oil shortages caused by geopolitical conflicts.