US Emergency Reserve Oil Heads to Asia Amid Global Supply Crisis

A crucial oil shipment from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve is en route to Asia, marking its first arrival in over three years. The cargo of 616,000 barrels of sour crude, chartered by Shell, was loaded onto the Greek-flagged Very Large Crude Carrier Arosa in early May and is expected to arrive in Bataan, Philippines in early July.

The Philippine government has been diversifying its energy sources due to a shortage of Middle Eastern barrels. Energy Secretary Sharon Garin stated that the country is eyeing producers in the US, Canada, Colombia, and Argentina, as well as US waivers on Russian seaborne oil.

The shipment is part of a coordinated effort by the International Energy Agency to release 400 million barrels of oil worldwide to combat spiking crude prices. The US has already released 172 million barrels from its SPR, with some headed to northwest Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Balkans.