Over 80 Million Barrels Of Oil From US Strategic Reserves To Start Reaching Market Next Week

Oil released from the strategic petroleum reserves of the United States will start reaching by the end of next week.

In a statement on Friday, the US Energy Department said that the oil will be released in the form of loans that companies will return with extra barrels as a premium. This system will help “stabilize markets at no cost to American taxpayers,” it said.

As part of the effort to normalise oil prices amid the ongoing United States-Israel-Iran war, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has decided to release about 400 million barrels of oil from the strategic reserves of its 32 member countries in the open market.

Of this, the US has agreed to release 172 million barrels in total, which is about 43 percent of the oil to be released by IEA countries. In the first tranche, the US has released about 86 million barrels of crude in the market.

“Barrels will be made available from the SPR’s (Strategic Petroleum Reserves’) Bryan Mound, West Hackberry, and Bayou Choctaw. Return barrels will be delivered back to DOE (Department of Energy) on a schedule designed to protect commercial markets and the American people, while ensuring the reserve remains a critical national security asset,” the energy department said in the statement.

Currently, there are approximately 415 million barrels of oil with the US strategic petroleum reserves, compared to 395 million barrels a year ago.

However, despite the announcement of the release of oil by IEA countries, oil prices rose close to $100 per barrel as there were no signs of de-escalation in the war from either side.

While Trump has repeatedly said that the war could end whenever he wanted, Iran indicated it will continue fighting.

It has attacked oil tankers crossing the Strait of Hormuz while the US has attacked Iran’s oil hub Kharg Island.