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Yes, this is the largest release of oil from U.S. national reserves

President Biden made history this week with his announcement to release millions of barrels of oil over the next several months.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — President Joe Biden announced on March 31 that the U.S. will release 1 million barrels of oil per day, or 180 million barrels total, from the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) over the next six months, an action aimed at combating rising gas prices resulting in large part from the war in Ukraine.  

In his announcement, Biden said, "...this is by far the largest release of our national reserve in our history to provide a historic amount of supply for a historic amount of time - a 6 months bridge to the fall."

THE QUESTION

Is this the largest release of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve?

OUR SOURCES

The Department of Energy

Patrick DeHaan from GasBuddy

WHAT WE FOUND

According to DOE's Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, the SPR exists "as an emergency response tool the President can use should the United States be confronted with an economically-threatening disruption in oil supplies."

There are three types of release from the SPR:

  • Emergency Drawdowns
  • Crude Oil Test Sales
  • Exchange Agreements
  • Non-Emergency Sales

Biden's March 31 announcement is classified as an Emergency Drawdown.

RELATED: No, U.S. oil reserves weren’t ‘100% full’ during Trump’s presidency, as he claimed

Just three times before has a president directed the emergency release of oil from the SPR.

The first happened in 1991, at the beginning of Operation Desert Storm. At that time, President George H.W. Bush ordered the drawdown of 33.75 million barrels. The oil was released over a 45-day period, according to DOE.

The second time happened after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. When the storm entered the Gulf of Mexico, it impacted oil production. 

President George W. Bush authorized the Secretary of Energy to draw down and sell crude oil from the SPR. 

This resulted in about 20 million barrels.

The most recent time when the emergency reserves were tapped into was in 2011 when Energy Secretary Chu announced the U.S. and its partners in the International Energy Agency would release 60 million barrels onto the world market because of the crisis in Libya.

The U.S.'s contribution was 30 million barrels.

THE ANSWER

Yes, President Biden's announcement about the release of 180 million barrels from the SPR is the largest in U.S. history. 

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