The Financial Post reports in its Tuesday edition that Canada will provide 23.6 million barrels of oil and increase natural gas exports to help stabilize energy markets affected by the Iran war, Energy Minister Tim Hodgson announced. A Bloomberg dispatch to the Post reports that this effort is part of a broader release of 400 million barrels by 32 countries in the International Energy Agency. As the world's fourth-largest oil supplier, Canada will support this effort through planned production rather than a strategic petroleum reserve. The Middle East conflict has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz and is preventing oil and gas from leaving the region, sending prices soaring in what the IEA calls the biggest oil market disruption in history. Canada has been exploring its options to boost supply, for instance by delaying planned maintenance activities. Prime Minister Mark Carney said the 23.6 million barrels represent upcoming exports from Canadian companies. The country has some "margin to manoeuvre" but it is constrained by pipeline capacity and is looking to boost investment in its oil industry, including by supporting the government of Alberta's proposal for a new west-coast pipeline, he said.