[mrbowler]

Originally Posted by pandybat

So we already have so much oil in reserve? Is that for emergencies or something? Like, what would have to happen in order for them to release some?

This is the contrast in positions...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5015445/

“That petroleum reserve is in place in case of major disruptions of energy supplies to the United States,” Bush said Wednesday. “The idea of emptying the Strategic Petroleum Reserve would put America in a dangerous position in the war on terror. We’re at war. We face a tough and determined enemy on all fronts, and we must not put ourselves in a worse position in this war, and playing politics with the Strategic Petroleum Reserve would do just that.”

Though no one has proposed “emptying” the SPR, Democrats for months have been urging suspension of fresh deposits, freeing up oil to satisfy unexpectedly strong global demand and help ease prices."


700 million-barrel stockpile
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve, established in 1975 after the original OPEC-induced “oil shock,” is a series of underground salt domes in four sites in Texas and Louisiana. Beginning in 2001, when the reserves stood at about 540 million barrels, the Bush administration has been steadily topping off the stockpile, which has a capacity of 700 million barrels. Currently, the SPR contains about 660 million barrels.

“The Strategic Petroleum Reserve continues to play a key role in keeping inventories tight,” A.G. Edwards analyst Bruce Lanni wrote in a recent research report. Some 19 million barrels have been added so far this year, on top of 37.5 million barrels that were added in 2003, he said.