Western powers this week readied a contingency plan to tap a record volume from emergency stockpiles to replace nearly all the Gulf oil that would be lost if Iran blocks the Strait of Hormuz, industry sources and diplomats told Reuters…”This would form a necessary and sensible response to a closure of the
strait,” a European diplomat told Reuters. “It wouldn’t take long to put
in place if it was required … and would be unlikely to prove
controversial amongst the (IEA) membership.”