strategic petroleum reserve

strategic petroleum reserve

strategic petroleum reserve - “Every time oil has been diverted or taken from the [Strategic Petroleum Reserve] — one or the other or both — the price at the pump has gone down,” she told reporters. “But even if you don’t subscribe to that, that at least puts a question mark to the speculators that you might do this.”
That’s the argument coming from three
House Democrats who have urged President Barack Obama to open up the 700-million-barrel reserve, the oil of which is stored in the Gulf of Mexico. The lawmakers – Vermont Rep. Peter Welch, Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro and Massachusetts Rep. Ed Markey – believe releasing even a part of the oil reserve will affect market speculation and bring down gas prices.

 

But House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said he’s hesitant to use the oil reserve except in emergencies, such as when the supply of oil is disrupted. Hoyer said that’s currently not the case. He is also skeptical that tapping the reserve would lower gas prices, saying the spike is being driven by speculation and unrest in the Middle East.

 

Gas is now averaging $3.74 per gallon of regular, which is about 30 cents higher than a month ago, according to the AAA.
When asked Thursday whether unleashing the oil reserve would lower gas prices, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) referenced his meeting with President Barack Obama on Wednesday, saying that he didn’t believe Obama thought that was a good idea.
“Just releasing [the Strategic Petroleum Reserve] without coordination with our allies around the world, all it does is, it shifts where the supply’s coming from,” Boehner told reporters. “So it didn’t appear to me that the president believed that using [the reserve] would have any meaningful effect on gas prices.”