US Announces Emergency Release of 30 Mln Barrels of Crude Oil From Strategic Petroleum Reserve

The move follows a joint International Energy Agency (IEA) meeting in which the US and 30 other member-nations agreed on the release of 60 million barrels of oil from the nation's emergency reserves. Sanctions-related disruptions to Russian oil trade have created a market "under threat" that demands global attention, the group says.

US President Joe Biden has authorized Washington to release 30 million barrels of oil from strategic petroleum reserves in an effort to stabilize global energy markets disrupted by the military attacks in Ukraine, US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said in a Tuesday evening statement.

"Today, I chaired an emergency ministerial meeting of the [IEA] ... where the United States and 30 other member countries, supported by the European Commission, agreed to collectively release an initial 60 million barrels of oil from strategic petroleum reserves," Granholm wrote. "This decision reflects our common commitment to address significant market and supply disruptions related to President Putin’s war on Ukraine."

The IEA reportedly considered releasing up to 70 million barrels of oil during the emergency discussions.

"In line with this decision, President Biden authorized me to make an initial commitment on behalf of the United States of 30 million barrels of oil to be released from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve," Granholm said.

Washington is committed to blocking Putin from "attempts to weaponize energy supplies" and will continue the advancement of "ongoing efforts to accelerate Europe's diversification of energy supplies away from" Moscow, the US energy secretary noted.

The US believes modern-day investment in clean energy is useful in reducing domestic and international dependence on Russian oil and gas, particularly as a means to safeguard energy supplies from "volatile prices and markets."

Granholm noted that the US backs "ambitious" clean energy goals, such as the pursuit of a net-zero emissions economy by 2050—a timeline that has been panned as insufficient by many climate experts.

At the same time, critics of the Biden administration have argued that Washington's progressive climate change policies have contributed to a decline in US energy production and the present energy situation.

The US announcement comes shortly after the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) approved the release via an emergency meeting, amounting to the fourth instance the group has moved to tap into its emergency stockpiles. This particular release comes second to the IEA's release amid the first Gulf War in 1991.

A hike in oil prices, as well as a commercial inventory drought rivaling the lows of 2014, comes as the US, Japan, and European IEA countries seek to send a "unified message" to oil producer Russia regarding what they refer to as its "special operation" in Ukraine.

Crude oil traded above $100 a barrel on Tuesday, with price spikes that represented eight-year highs. Per the Wall Street Journal, prices were sitting at $106 a barrel (up 8.1% that day) following the IEA announcement.