On Friday, the US Energy Department formally announced a sale of oil from emergency stockpiles, a day after President Joe Biden declared the largest release ever in an effort to lower fuel costs, which have risen dramatically due to Russia’s conflict with Ukraine.
Starting in May, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve will sell up to 1 million barrels of oil every day for six months. The release, which is the third in the last six months, will serve as a stopgap until domestic producers can increase output and bring supply and demand back into balance, according to Biden.
Last month, Biden imposed a restriction on Russian oil imports into the United States, despite the fact that Russia produces nearly 10% of the world’s oil.
Between May and July, the first 90 million barrels of SPR oil will be sold, including 20 million barrels that were previously planned to reach the market in May. According to the Energy Department, another 90 million barrels will be released between August and October.
The SPR is held in four locations along the Texas and Louisiana coasts, with a current capacity of 568.3 million barrels, the lowest since May 2002. According to the agency, up to 38.5 million barrels will be sold from the two Texas facilities until July, while up to 31.5 million barrels will be sold from the two Louisiana sites.
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