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US Strategic Crude Reserves Nosedive to Their Lowest Levels Since 1984

© AP Photo / Department of EnergyAn undated photo provided by the Department of Energy shows crude oil pipes at the Bryan Mound site near Freeport, Texas
An undated photo provided by the Department of Energy shows crude oil pipes at the Bryan Mound site near Freeport, Texas - Sputnik International, 1920, 13.09.2022
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Last week, US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said that the White House is considering releasing even more crude from the US’ Strategic Petroleum Reserve to try to tame the jump in oil prices that is expected to arrive in time for the Christmas holiday season.
The US’ Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR) have hit their lowest level since October 1984, according to US Department of Energy (DOE) data released on Monday.

The data indicated that the country’s emergency crude oil stocks dropped to 434.1 million barrels last week, and that the release from the SPR included around 6.3 million barrels of sweet crude and about 2 million barrels of sour crude.

This followed US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm telling Reuters last week that the Biden administration will weigh on further SPR releases after the current program wraps up in October.
In this photo taken on Thursday, July 14, 2016, Gazprom oil producing facility situated in the Yamal region, Russia - Sputnik International, 1920, 09.09.2022
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No formal decisions on the SPR release have been taken, but Bloomberg news agency cited unnamed sources as claiming last week that the process might take place in November, December or January if the go-ahead is given.
The SPR has been dropping steadily over the past nine months, and the decline accelerated to double digits after the Biden administration announced that it would be selling off up to a million barrels of crude every day until October to try to stabilize domestic gasoline prices.
The SPR was created by then-US President Gerald Ford in 1975 in the wake of the OPEC oil embargo following the Arab-Israeli Yom Kippur War of October 1973. A US president is authorized to release crude from the emergency reserve only in the event of a “severe energy interruption” that’s deemed to threaten the economy or US national security.
The latest SPR-related developments come after US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned on Sunday that Americans could see an increase in oil prices this winter after the EU slashes Russian oil imports.

“It’s a risk that we're working on the price cap to try to address this winter. The European Union will cease for the most part buying Russian oil. In addition, they will ban the provision of services that enable Russia to ship oil by tanker and it is possible that that could cause a spike in oil prices,” Yellen told CNN.

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Earlier this month, the G7 finance ministers confirmed their intention to impose price caps on Russian oil as part of the expanded sanctions against Moscow that the Western countries slapped on Russia over its ongoing special military operation in Ukraine.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak slammed the idea of imposing a price cap on Russian oil as absurd, warning that Moscow would not deliver oil and oil products to countries that support the decision. Russian President Vladimir Putin, for his part, described the idea as "stupid", adding that it would lead to a rise in prices and that global demand for Russian energy remains high.
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