http://money.cnn.com/2011/06/23/news/economy/spr/index.htm?hpt=hp_t1
Insiders call it the SPR for short. But what is it exactly?
The SPR is located in man-made underground salt domes in Texas and Louisiana. It holds a record 727 million barrels of oil. That's enough to cover U.S. oil imports for 85 days, or most of the oil exported from the Persian Gulf for 48 days.
The 30 million barrel draw, which will play out over a few months, is less than 5% of the total reserve.
The U.S. reserves are the largest emergency oil stockpile in the world. The government has $17 billion worth of oil stashed in the SPR, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
The DOE began storing oil in the SPR in the wake of the 1973-74 Arab oil embargo, when oil producing nations in the Middle East halted exports. The resulting oil and gasoline shortages roiled the U.S. economy.
The last time the government tapped the SPR for emergency purposes was in 2005, when President George W. Bush authorized the sale of 11 million barrels after Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc on production in the Gulf of Mexico.
The only other emergency release from the SPR was in the early 1990s, when the government sold over 20 million barrels of oil after exports from Iraq were disrupted by Operation Desert Storm.
Insiders call it the SPR for short. But what is it exactly?
The SPR is located in man-made underground salt domes in Texas and Louisiana. It holds a record 727 million barrels of oil. That's enough to cover U.S. oil imports for 85 days, or most of the oil exported from the Persian Gulf for 48 days.
The 30 million barrel draw, which will play out over a few months, is less than 5% of the total reserve.
The U.S. reserves are the largest emergency oil stockpile in the world. The government has $17 billion worth of oil stashed in the SPR, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
The DOE began storing oil in the SPR in the wake of the 1973-74 Arab oil embargo, when oil producing nations in the Middle East halted exports. The resulting oil and gasoline shortages roiled the U.S. economy.
The last time the government tapped the SPR for emergency purposes was in 2005, when President George W. Bush authorized the sale of 11 million barrels after Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc on production in the Gulf of Mexico.
The only other emergency release from the SPR was in the early 1990s, when the government sold over 20 million barrels of oil after exports from Iraq were disrupted by Operation Desert Storm.
cyall
