Washington, United States. The United States will release 172 million barrels of oil from its strategic petroleum reserve to try to reduce oil prices that have risen due to supply shocks linked to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Wednesday.
Release plan and timeline
Wright said the release is part of a broader 400 million-barrel release agreed earlier in the day by the 32-nation International Energy Agency. He said the U.S. release will begin next week and will take about 120 days to deliver.
Conflict and market impact
The U.S. and Israel began attacks on Iran on February 28, and Iran has responded with strikes on Israel and Gulf countries with U.S. bases. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it would block oil shipments from the Gulf unless the U.S. and Israeli attacks cease, and the war has shaken markets around the world.
SPR levels and replacement plan
Asked earlier on Wednesday about the threshold for the strategic petroleum reserve, President Donald Trump said Washington will “reduce it a little bit.” In a statement, Wright said the United States has arranged to more than replace these strategic reserves with approximately 200 million barrels within the next year.
How do you think the planned oil release will affect fuel prices in the coming months?
