New York-Sana
US President Joe Biden is sticking to his defensive position so far against the acceleration of inflation driven by the rise in global energy and oil prices, so that resorting to strategic oil reserves remains an idea to help reduce crude oil prices, which rose above the level of 80 dollars per barrel.
The idea of resorting to strategic oil reserves is raised more and more in the United States with the aim of reducing global crude oil prices, but with American promises to combat climate change, the White House, according to a report by Agence France-Presse, is still evaluating the possibility of using this rarely used authority. Temporarily affecting the cost of fuel.
And US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm recently indicated to CNN that the “OPEC” countries ignored American calls to increase supplies, which forced the US president to search for alternative means to reduce fuel prices without excluding the possibility of using the strategic oil reserves to achieve stability in fuel prices. local.
It is noteworthy that the history of the creation of US strategic oil reserves dates back to 1975 with the aim of responding to oil shocks. These reserves buried in huge salt caves up to 800 meters deep along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico can reach 714 million barrels of black gold, where the level of US stocks currently stands at 609 million. A barrel, according to the US Department of Energy, is equivalent to six months of US crude oil consumption.
The US Department indicated that there are about sixty reservoirs buried in a layer of salt distributed over four highly monitored sites in Louisiana and Texas, and they contain these reserves, which represent the largest emergency return of crude oil in the world.
According to US laws, it is assumed that about 12 days will pass since the US President's decision to extract oil from these reservoirs connected to several pipelines to be refined or sold in the market, where this crude oil can be used for domestic demand, but it can also be exported.
According to the report of the French Press Agency, American law gives the president the right to withdraw up to 30 million barrels within 60 days or more in the event of serious interruptions in energy supplies, noting in this regard that in 1991, former President George Bush Sr. ordered the withdrawal of nearly 17 million barrels. Barrels during the first Gulf War. In 2005, President George W. Bush Jr. ordered the withdrawal of 11 million barrels from these reserves after Hurricane Katrina destroyed Louisiana and its oil facilities, while President Barack Obama ordered in 2011 to withdraw 30 million barrels to compensate for the interruption of oil delivery from Libya.
On the other hand, President Bush Jr. ordered in 2001, immediately after the September 11 attacks, a precautionary measure represented in filling the tanks to the fullest extent.
And the French press agency quotes John Kilduff, an oil market analyst at the investment consultancy “Again Capital” in New York, as saying, “Dumping the market with oil reserves to reduce crude prices may have a limited and short-term effect, and in order for this to be effective, the amount of reserves used must be large and the To have a coordinated effort with other countries.”
While there are many US statements emphasizing the need to reduce emissions from the use of fossil fuels, the move to resort more to crude oil reserves has received international criticism, as an editorial in the “Washington Post” indicates that this “will be counterproductive to the picture with regard to climate change.”
In this regard, the analyst Kilduff said, "Certainly there is a contradiction for the US government, and that the true heroes in the fight against climate change are supporters of high oil prices to allow renewable energies to be more competitive."
For US President Joe Biden, according to the French agency report, inflation, which suddenly reached its highest level in three decades, reaching 6.2 percent over a year, driven largely by high energy prices, may turn into a “political poison.” Thus, combating high prices becomes inevitable, as Kilduff promises that These increases hurt Biden's popularity.
The average price of a gallon of gasoline rose 3.87 liters at stations to $3.41 from $2.12 a year ago, according to the American Automobile Association, and this level, which is still acceptable for an American driver, becomes problematic, starting at four dollars a gallon, according to experts.
Kilduff considered it a "breaking point" because after that, you have to pay $100 to fill up an SUV, and this grabs the driver's attention, undermines consumer confidence and slows the economy, noting that all economic recessions in the United States have been preceded by a rise in oil prices.
