Trump says he’ll tap Strategic Petroleum Reserve to cut energy costs
Located in Brazoria County, Texas, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) Bryan Mound storage facility is one of four sites that make up the nation’s oil reserves.
Str New | Reuters
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he will tap into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help reduce energy costs during the Iran war.
“We’ll do it and then we’ll fill it,” Trump said. report with Cincinnati broadcaster WKRC.
The President said, “I filled it once, I will fill it again, but right now we will reduce it a little, which will bring the prices down.”
Gasoline prices in the United States have risen to an average of $3.58 per gallon as the Iran war triggered a major disruption in global oil supplies. driver group AAA. The current retail price is almost 22% higher than the same period last month, when gas cost about $2.94.
Trump’s comments came after the International Energy Agency agreed on Wednesday to release 400 million barrels of oil to address the supply disruption. This is the largest publication in the IEA’s more than 50-year history.
The United States is a member of the IEA, along with more than 30 economies in Europe, North America and Northeast Asia.
The USA currently has 415 million barrels of oil in its strategic reserves; This is approximately 58% of the 714 million barrels of permitted capacity. It will ultimately be up to Trump to decide whether the United States will participate in the IEA action, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told CNBC earlier Wednesday.
Speaking to CNBC’s “Power Lunch” program, Burgum said, “I think what you heard from the IEA today is reasonable for them, but it’s obviously up to President Trump whether the United States will participate or not, he will make the final decision on that.”
