US releases strategic oil reserves to foreign allies for first time ever
Oil extraction (Photo: Getty Images)
The US has begun supplying crude oil from its strategic reserve to Türkiye, but not only to Türkiye. The first batch of fuel is already on its way to the Mediterranean country, according to the Reuters news agency.
The White House is trying to stop the rapid rise in fuel prices, as the war in Iran has turned the global market upside down. For the first time in its history, the US has decided to release 172 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). This is part of a larger plan, as the International Energy Agency is preparing to release a record 400 million barrels of crude.
Which tankers are carrying fuel to Türkiye
The first vessel to set sail was the Greek-flagged tanker North Star. In April, it loaded approximately 680,000 barrels of low-sulfur crude oil. The crude was taken from the Bryan Mound reserve near Texas City. The tanker is expected to arrive at the Turkish port of Aliaga in mid-May.
The second batch is even larger: the tanker DHT Antelope, flying the flag of Hong Kong, loaded 1.1 million barrels of oil at the end of April. The process took place off the Galveston shelf. The crew transferred oil from one vessel to another directly on the open sea.
Who else is receiving American crude
Besides Türkiye, oil from the US strategic reserves has already been sent to Italy and the Netherlands. Washington wants to compensate for the deficit caused by the military conflict in the Middle East.
What is happening in the oil market
Oil prices spiked sharply after Trump's response to Iran's peace proposal. The US leader said he does not like Iran's latest proposal for peace talks.
Meanwhile, according to Bloomberg, global oil reserves are shrinking at an unprecedented rate. According to Morgan Stanley estimates, by approximately 4.8 million barrels per day since the beginning of March.
We also wrote that Iraq announced the discovery of a giant oil field. The area of the field on the border with the UAE is over 8,700 square kilometers, and China is already overseeing the project.
