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Drained to Record Low, Refilling US Strategic Petroleum Reserve Would Be Costly & Drawn Out

© AP Photo / Matthew BrownIn this Nov. 6, 2013 file photo, a Whiting Petroleum Co. pumpjack pulls crude oil from the Bakken region of the Northern Plains near Bainville, Mont. U.S.
In this Nov. 6, 2013 file photo, a Whiting Petroleum Co. pumpjack pulls crude oil from the Bakken region of the Northern Plains near Bainville, Mont. U.S. - Sputnik International, 1920, 04.12.2023
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Earlier, media reports said that the Biden administration plans to repurchase 12 million barrels of crude to replenish America's heavily-drawn oil reserve.
It may take Washington plenty of time to refill its strategic petroleum reserve (SPR), US Oil and Gas Association President Tim Stewart said in an interview with Fox News.

He recalled that originally, the country’s SPR was designed to address disruptions to crude supplies, but not necessarily the high prices of the fuel.

Stewart noted that before last year, the largest release was 31 million barrels of oil during the 1991 Operation Desert Storm followed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which resulted in 30 million barrels being released.
US Strategic Petroleum Reserve storage tanks at the Sunoco Terminal near Nederland, Texas - Sputnik International, 1920, 13.09.2022
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A year ago, however, he said, the Biden administration "initiated this largest drawdown in our history, because it needed to get through an election cycle, not necessarily a hurricane or a major military conflict."
According to Stewart, in order to restore the US to the 2021 levels and completely replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), the Biden administration must refill 168 million barrels, as the SPR is currently at a record low not seen in decades. Additionally, an additional 300 million barrels would be necessary for full replenishment.

"It’s going to be very expensive and take a long time," US Oil and Gas Association President underscored.

Confirming that the SPR has already been depleted 40%, he stressed that part of the problem pertains to US investments in “the refineries which allow them to refine the light crude that we were producing.”

The US administration made it clear that such investments are impossible, Stewart said, adding that "there’s strategic and global security issue," related to the problem.

He spoke after the American press cited unnamed sources as saying earlier this year that the US Department of Energy intends to repurchase 12 million barrels of crude oil before the end of 2023 to refill the SPR.
The Department of Energy said Friday it's considering buying 5 million barrels of oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in a move that could signal a government plan to bolster an industry suffering from collapsing prices.  - Sputnik International, 1920, 24.08.2022
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An Energy Department spokesperson said at the time that they would continue to “seek opportunities for additional repurchases as market conditions and the constraints of SPR operations allow.”

Washington’s use of the SPR has been a highly-charged matter for oil bulls and opponents of President Biden. Both sides accuse him of indiscriminately releasing hundreds of millions of barrels from the stockpile to subdue crude prices and shore up his political standing with American voters despite the fact that the SPR is first and foremost meant for emergency use, in times of critically short oil supply.

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