America begins emergency release of 86 million barrels of oil from the reserve
The administration of President Donald Trump has begun a massive drawdown of the U.S. strategic oil reserve, by issuing a request to swap 86 million barrels of crude oil.
The U.S. Department of Energy confirmed in a statement: “Oil shipments from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which are part of a larger release of 172 million barrels announced last Wednesday, are expected to begin arriving in markets by the end of next week.”.
The withdrawal process is expected to take about four months to complete and is part of a broader 400 million barrel effort being coordinated with other countries to reduce the prices of crude oil, gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, which have risen sharply since the US-Israeli war on Iran.
The war has brought shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil passes, to a near standstill.
The crisis has also increased political pressure on President Donald Trump to address rising fuel costs before the midterm elections in November.
Under the terms of the swap, companies will return the oil they borrowed to the Ministry of Energy with additional quantities added as a premium. The ministry said: “The deadline for submitting bids is midday on March 17.”.
