The U.S. is releasing 30 million barrels of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) as part of an International effort to make up for the loss in supply from the disruption in Libya’s production in the face of ongoing “kinetic military action” the US Energy Department announced Thursday, June 23, 2011.
The release coincides with another 30 million barrels to be released in the coming month from other nations in coordination with the International Energy Agency (IEA).
US Energy Secretary Steven Chu said the SPR is currently at a record 727 million barrels in storage. He said the situation in Libya – which the US began bombing in March, 2011, but which has been under NATO control since May – has caused a loss of roughly 1.5 million barrels of oil per day – particularly light, sweet crude FROM GLOBAL MARKETS.
"We are taking this action in response to the ongoing loss of crude oil due to supply disruptions in Libya and other countries and their impact on the global economic recovery," Chu said in a statement. "As we move forward, we will continue to monitor the situation and stand ready to take additional steps if necessary."
The IEA, a 28-member nation organization created to create a collective response to major disruptions in oil supply, said the coming release of oil inventory is the third time the agency has taken such action.
"I expect this action will contribute to well-supplied markets and to ensuring a soft landing for the world economy," said Executive Director Nobuo Tanaka.
The IEA said that the percentage distribution of stocks from each country is based on the proportionate share of consumption. As a result, the U.S. is releasing 50 percent of the total while European countries release about 30 percent and Asian countries provide the remaining 20 percent. The IEA also said that even though the crisis in Libya began in February, tightening of supply by OPEC and recent European refinery outages linked to "seasonal maintenance work" along with summer demand in the Northern Hemisphere "represents an imminent risk." Chu noted that U.S. demand is at its highest in the summer driving months of July and August.
Here is the phone/fax/e-mail correspondence I sent to Dr. Chu after seeing today’s news about the Obama administration’s continuing effort to take Marxist style control of American liberties while offering his supplication, using American strategic resources, to the “global community”. I also sent a copy to Fox News.
Using U.S. strategic defensive oil reserves to make things more comfortable for the global market and terrorist countries?
We must not allow this to happen!
The Obama administration refuses to allow drilling for existing oil to be used for American consumption and gas price relief, BUT ALLOWS DEPLETING OUR STRATEGIC EMERGENCY OIL RESERVES in order to make things better for the International market and terrorist controlled countries???
What insanity!
The U.S. SPR was created for the specific purpose of providing America with the ability to fight off an attack from terrorists or any enemy who might try to reduce our ability to defend ourselves by attacking us and at the same time, preventing our importing of oil necessary to fuel our military. Even a 4% gift to other countries including terrorist countries, is too much from such an important American self defense resource.
This so called “crisis” in International supply has been intensified by OPEC’s “tightening of supply”, and “recent European refinement outages linked to seasonal maintenance work.” Ok, if they contributed to the "crisis", then let them contribute to the solution!
Dr. Chu, become a patriotic American in support of a sound, strategic energy strategy to meet the defensive needs of our country, the United States of America, or become a casualty along with the dangerous agendas of the Obama administration. There is too much at stake for you to do otherwise. God bless America.
You can contact Dr. Chu at the locations listed below:
E-mail The.Secretary@hq.doe.gov
Phone 1-202-586-5000
Fax 1-202-586-4403
Mail Dr. Steven Chu
U.S. Department of Energy
1000 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, D.C. 20585
Fox News can be contacted at 1-888-369-4762,
Or e-mailed at newswatch@foxnews.com
UPDATE: June 25, 2011 -- Rep. Fred Upton (R-Michigan) and Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee has a comment and video at this link VIDEO
UPDATE: March 23, 2012 -- There is an Internet rumor circulating that Obama is intending to sabotage America's strategic oil reserve ONCE AGAIN, by releasing significant amounts of oil from it, a month or two before the November general election in an effort to drop gasoline prices enough to STEAL the election Once again his RE-ELECTION trumps America's national security - Slowly reducing our national oil reserves, along with Obama's extreme budget cuts to the military, is his administration's agenda to emasculate our American military and leave us defenseless. Obama is in collusion with Britain and hopes to STEAL his re-election at the expense of America's national defense.
UPDATE: March 23, 2012 -- There is an Internet rumor circulating that Obama is intending to sabotage America's strategic oil reserve ONCE AGAIN, by releasing significant amounts of oil from it, a month or two before the November general election in an effort to drop gasoline prices enough to STEAL the election Once again his RE-ELECTION trumps America's national security - Slowly reducing our national oil reserves, along with Obama's extreme budget cuts to the military, is his administration's agenda to emasculate our American military and leave us defenseless. Obama is in collusion with Britain and hopes to STEAL his re-election at the expense of America's national defense.
Great post. Thanks. I had my head stuck in Forbes and our withdrawal from Aghan, so didn't see this.
ReplyDeleteThanks again for the nice comment, trailbee. The Obama administration is just pushing it out as a standard news item, hoping no one will notice. I hope some attention can be focused on the effect it could have on all of us.
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