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By Timothy Gardner
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Trump administration announced on Saturday that it was ready to tap US oil reserves urgently, if necessary, after attacks in Saudi Arabia that blocked more than half of crude oil production of the world's largest oil exporter.
The Yemeni Houthis lined up on Iran have claimed the attack that has destroyed about 5 million barrels, or 5% of global production, but US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blamed Iran for .
The strategic oil reserve, managed by the Energy Department, is located in heavily guarded underground caverns on the Texas and Louisiana coasts. According to the department's website, the largest oil reserve in the world currently contains nearly 645 million barrels of oil, or 395 million barrels of heavy sour and 250 million barrels of light sweet crude oil.
Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger lobbied for the creation of the SPR in 1975, after the embargo on Arab oil pushed up gas prices and damaged the US economy.
Under US law, the president can request an emergency sale from the RPD if the country faces a supply disruption that threatens the economy. The RPS has been used for this purpose three times, the last in 2011 after the violence in Libya.
In the past, Washington has participated in coordinated oil harvesting in an emergency with the Paris-based International Energy Agency, which coordinates energy policies in 30 industrialized countries, including the United States. United States.
Secretary of Energy Rick Perry said Saturday that he had asked his department to work with the IEA on options for a "collective global action" if needed to supply global markets petrol.
After the US oil boom that lasted a decade, many politicians said the time had come to drastically reduce the size of the RPS, calls that could fade after Saturday's attacks.
Below are some of the biggest releases from the emergency reserve.
EMERGENCY SALES:
LIBYA
In June 2011, President Barack Obama ordered the sale of 30.6 million barrels in response to the disruption of crude supply in Libya. This was coordinated with the IEA, which also released 30 million barrels.
HURRICANE KATRINA
In September 2005, after Hurricane Katrina hit oil production, Louisiana and Mississippi oil distribution and refineries, President George W. Bush ordered the sale of 30 million barrels of oil, the SPR ended up selling 11 million to energy companies. In a coordinated response, the IEA has set a goal of making 60 million barrels of oil and petroleum products available, but ultimately less.
OPERATION DESERT STORM
In January 1991, after American and allied warplanes began attacks on Baghdad and other military targets in Iraq, President George HW Bush ordered the sale of 34 million barrels, of which 17.3 million were barrels. have been sold.
OIL LOANS:
THE HURRICANE HARVEY
In 2017, after Hurricane Harvey flooded Texas and shut down much of the region's refining capacity, Perry ordered an oil exchange off the reserve. A total of 5.2 million barrels were delivered to refiners on the Gulf Coast and a little more oil was repaid on the reserve in early 2018.
THE HURRICANE ISAAC
In August 2012, the RPD granted an emergency loan of one million barrels to Marathon Petroleum Company for its refining activities following Isaac 's closure of oil production in the Gulf of Mexico.
HURRICAN GUSTAV AND IKE
In September 2008, 5.3 million barrels of oil were delivered to five companies whose inventories had been affected. The oil was repaid in mid-2009.
SALES MANDATED BY THE CONGRESS:
LAW ON CURES OF THE 21ST CENTURY
Under this 2016 law, the SPR was ordered to sell oil in order to raise funds for the government and anti-drug programs. He led the sale of 25 million barrels over three fiscal years beginning in 2017.
BUDGET ACT
Under the 2015 law, the SPR was ordered to sell up to $ 2 billion of SPR crude from 2017 to 2020 in order to modernize it. The pipes and pumps of the SPR have been damaged after decades of exposure to moist and salty air. The modernization also aims to improve the SPR's ability to load oil on tankers for export.
(Report by Timothy Gardner, edited by Marguerita Choy)
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