Trump to decide whether U.S. participates in IEA oil reserve release: Burgum
President Donald Trump will decide whether the United States will participate in a historic release of oil reserves by the International Energy Agency to address the supply disruption triggered by the Iran war, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told CNBC on Wednesday.
“I think what you’re hearing from the IEA today is reasonable on their part, but it’s obviously up to President Trump to decide whether the United States will participate or not, and he’ll make the final decision on that,” Burgum said in an interview on CNBC’s “Power Lunch.”
IEA members agreed on Wednesday to release 400 million barrels of oil stockpiled in response to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. This is the largest action carried out by the organization in its more than 50-year history.
The IEA is a group of 32 developed economies located primarily in Europe, North America and Northeast Asia. The USA is a member of the organization. The IEA’s mission is to protect global energy security.
The United States currently has a stockpiled Strategic Petroleum Reserve of 415 million barrels, according to the Department of Energy. Stockpiles account for approximately 58% of SPR’s current permitted capacity of 714 million barrels.
Rapidan Energy Group President Bob McNally said Trump did not have to participate in the IEA’s reserve release. “He could decline to contribute or he could contribute,” said McNally, a former White House energy adviser to President George W. Bush.
Rapidan believes stocks will likely be released from U.S. reserves at some point, McNally said.
