According to a report by Lianhe Zaobao on March 11, U.S. Energy Secretary Wright said on Wednesday that the United States will release 172 million barrels of oil from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve, in an effort to lower oil prices that have surged amid supply shocks caused by the U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict. The release of oil reserves by the United States is part of a 400-million-barrel release plan agreed earlier on Wednesday by 32 member countries of the International Energy Agency (IEA). The releases will begin next week and are expected to take approximately 120 days to complete.