US has no immediate plan to tap oil reserve on Iran concerns

2026-03-03 - 00:34

The US oil reserve currently holds about 415 million barrels, or a little more than half of its roughly 700 million-barrel capacity. (Reuters pic) WASHINGTON: The Trump administration has no immediate plans to release oil from the nation’s emergency reserve in response to surging crude and gasoline prices in the wake of the Iran conflict, according to a person familiar with the situation. A decision to tap the Energy Department’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve could help stanch prices spikes, at least temporarily. The reserve currently holds about 415 million barrels, or a little more than half of its roughly 700 million-barrel capacity. “The Trump Administration’s policies have led to the highest production of US oil ever with even more oil from our newfound market and agreements with Venezuela,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. “The Departments of Energy and Treasury will continue to monitor oil markets and do everything possible to keep prices stable.” Secretary of state Marco Rubio said a programme to mitigate energy costs due to the conflict will begin on Tuesday. Speaking to reporters at the Capitol, he said he’d spoken to treasury secretary Scott Bessent and energy secretary Chris Wright about the programme, but offered no details. Any move to release oil from the reserve would likely be coordinated with nations that belong to the International Energy Agency. Still, a“full-on crisis” in the Strait of Hormuz could outlast emergency oil supplies held by the US and other IEA members, ClearView Energy Partners said in a note. US President Donald Trump has vowed to refill the oil cache, created after the Arab oil embargo of the 1970s, following a series of drawdowns by the administration of his predecessor Joe Biden. Those included a record sale of 180 million barrels into the global market aimed at lowering gasoline prices after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.