The Joe Biden administration said this Monday (13) that it is selling 26 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), a release that had been determined by Congress in previous years.
The U.S. Department of Energy considered canceling the 26 million barrel sale of fiscal 2023 after the Biden administration sold a record 180 million reserve barrels last year. But such a cancellation would require congressional action.
The sale announced on Monday is expected to temporarily push the reservoir below its current level of around 372 million barrels, its lowest level since 1983.
The department said oil offers expire on February 28 and that oil will be delivered from April 1 to June 30.
The government sold the 180 million barrels of oil to combat a rise in fuel prices due to Russia’s war in Ukraine and as global consumers exit the Covid-19 pandemic.
The department said it is implementing a three-part strategy to replenish the reservoir over the long term, including replenishments with emergency sales proceeds, returns of more than 25 million barrels of oil from past swaps, and working with Congress to prevent “sales.” “unnecessary” unrelated to interruption in supply to strategically maintain volume.
Last year, Congress canceled SPR sales of about 140 million barrels that were scheduled to take place from fiscal 2024 to fiscal 2027 following a proposal by the US Department of Energy to halt them.
Source: CNN Brasil
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