US Taps Strategic Oil Reserve Again Amid Record Diesel Prices
The U.S. Department of Energy has announced another release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), offering 40 million barrels of crude oil to help alleviate high fuel prices. This latest move follows a coordinated emergency release organized by the International Energy Agency, which had pledged to release 172 million barrels in total.
The current SPR inventory stands at 286.6 million barrels after another 3.1 million barrels were drawn down during the week ending August 28. The reserve is expected to fall to its lowest level since 1982 once this latest release is completed, leaving it more than 445 million barrels below maximum capacity.
Fuel prices remain a major concern, with U.S. gasoline still above $4 per gallon and diesel having climbed above $6 per gallon amid tight middle-distillate supplies and disruptions tied to the Iran war. At the start of September, distillate inventories were already 14% below the five-year average, while gasoline inventories were 6% below normal seasonal levels.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright has pressed European countries to make good on their own emergency-stock commitments, saying several IEA members had released only a fraction of what they pledged. The 40 million barrels offered through this exchange program must be returned later with additional barrels as interest.