US Strategic Petroleum Reserves are at the lowest in four decades -

Washington: In the wake of rising fuel prices and rising inflation triggered by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, US President Joe Biden has decided to open the ‘Strategic Petroleum Reserves’. It has been revealed that these reserves, created to meet the United States’ fuel needs during an emergency, are rapidly depleting. The US Department of Energy reported that stockpiles fell to their lowest level in four decades in data released last week.

After taking office, President Joe Biden had decided to open the ‘Strategic Petroleum Reserve’, meaning the reserve fuel storage three times. It includes the orders issued in November last year and at the beginning of March this year. After that, at the end of March, the Biden administration decided to open up 180 million barrels of fuel stock. It was ordered to release fuel from the ‘Strategic Petroleum Reserve’ for six months by releasing 1 million barrels daily.

According to this decision, the fuel will be removed from the ‘Strategic Petroleum Reserve’ until the end of October. After that, it is said that ten million barrels of fuel will be opened again in view of the mid-term elections to be held in November. Due to Biden’s decision, the US’s ‘Strategic Petroleum Reserve’ has reached its lowest level for the first time since 1984. Currently, there are only 427.2 million barrels of fuel left in the reserve fuel stocks of the United States.

The leading newspaper ‘Wall Street Journal’ has warned that considering the daily consumption of crude oil in the United States, the current fuel reserves will be enough for only 50 days during an emergency. The report published in this daily has also drawn attention to the two-pronged policies adopted by the Biden administration regarding fuel. On the one hand, President Biden is deciding not to increase fuel production in the United States. On the other hand, he is trying to persuade countries like Saudi Arabia and Venezuela to increase crude oil production and exports. Analysts have pointed out that this policy may endanger the fuel security of the United States. Meanwhile, sources have indicated that US companies will buy fuel from Canada after Biden stopped the release of fuel from the ‘Strategic Petroleum Reserve’. If this happens, it is claimed that the prices may flare up once again in the fuel market.