PARIS — Strategic oil reserves will be released "immediately" in Asia and Oceania, and as early as the end of March in America and Europe, the International Energy Agency said Sunday. IEA members agreed on March 11 to tap oil stockpiles to cushion the surge in prices caused by the war in the Middle East, in by far the largest-ever response of its kind. "Individual implementation plans have been submitted to the IEA by Member countries. These plans indicate that stocks will be made available by IEA Member countries in Asia Oceania immediately," said the IEA. "Stocks from IEA Member countries in the Americas and Europe will be made available starting from the end of March," it added. The IEA said a total 271.7 million barrels of government-managed stocks would be released worldwide. "The war in the Middle East is creating the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market," it said. It called the emergency stockpile release — the sixth in the history of the global energy body, and the first since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 — a "significant and welcome buffer". The