(José Niño, Headline USA) The Trump administration said Monday it would loan out 53.3 million barrels of crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to energy firms as fuel costs soar during the conflict with Iran, Just The News reported.
The release comes after Washington agreed in March to put 172 million barrels from the SPR on the market as part of a global coordinated release totaling 400 million barrels. That earlier effort aimed to curb the rising oil prices that have hit American wallets through higher gasoline and home heating expenses.
Nine companies, including Exxon and Marathon Petroleum Company, took 58 percent of the 92.5 million barrels the Department of Energy made available from the nation’s reserves, according to Reuters.
Under these arrangements, called oil exchanges, the DOE lends crude to companies that later return the oil plus additional barrels. The extra barrels effectively serve as interest on the borrowed supply.
Before this latest announcement, the DOE had already loaned 80 million barrels of the 172 million barrels previously designated for release from the SPR.
American petroleum reserves sit in 62 salt caverns spread across four locations on the Texas and Louisiana coastlines. Each cavern spans roughly 200 feet in width and plunges over 2,500 feet underground.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve contained 392.7 million barrels of oil as of May 1, according to figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
