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Page added on May 23, 2017
Trump budget wants to halve oil stockpile, open Arctic refuge to drilling
U.S. President Donald Trump’s White House wants to sell half of the nation’s emergency oil stockpile and open the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge to drilling as part of plans to balance the budget over the next 10 years, documents by the administration showed.
The White House budget, which will be delivered to Congress on Tuesday, is meant as a proposal and may not take effect in its current form. But it reveals the administration’s policy hopes, which include ramping up American energy output.
The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the world’s largest, holds about 688 million barrels of crude oil in heavily guarded underground caverns in Louisiana and Texas. Congress created it in 1975 after the Arab oil embargo caused fears of long-term motor fuel price spikes that would harm the U.S. economy.
The Trump budget proposes to start selling SPR oil in fiscal year 2018, which begins on Oct. 1, with sales that would generate $500 million, according to the documents. The sales from the reserve would gradually rise over the following years, peaking at nearly $3.9 billion in 2027, and totaling nearly $16.6 billion from 2018 to 2027.
The announcement surprised oil markets, and pulled down U.S. crude prices for immediate delivery to just over $50 per barrel during Asian trading hours. [O/R]
Yet the bigger effect, if implemented, would be more long-term as it is planned to last a decade. The Brent forward curve <0#LCO:> shows prices rising toward $55.60 per barrel by April 2018, but then declining toward $53.75 per barrel by late 2018.
The White House budget plan, released just after Trump left Saudi Arabia, the defacto leader of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), is seen as undermining OPEC-led plans to tighten global markets by cutting production, and points toward a future of ongoing ample supplies.
ARCTIC DRILLING
The Trump budget would also seek to raise $1.8 billion over the coming decade by leasing oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve, the largest protected wilderness in the United States, believed to hold rich reserves of crude.
Increased drilling in Alaska would add to rising U.S. oil production which, largely thanks to shale, has jumped over 10 percent since mid-2016 to 9.3 million barrels per day.
U.S. politicians have been debating whether to open the reserve in northeastern Alaska to drilling since the 1970s, with opponents citing the risk of spills and the contribution to global climate change.
Trump has already moved to expand U.S. offshore drilling, including in parts of the Arctic, as part of his broader effort to support the oil and gas industries. He has also moved to trim the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, including by proposing a more than 30 percent cut to its funding.
Mick Mulvaney, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, told reporters on Monday that the overall budget proposal was part of an effort to help the U.S. economy grow at a rate of 3 percent a year.
“It drives our tax reform policy, our regulatory policy, trade, energy … everything is keyed toward getting us back to 3 percent,” he said.
The White House did not immediately respond to questions about the energy-related budget proposals.
Trump’s budget would also restart a nuclear waste fund that would bring in more than $3 billion by 2027.
The Obama administration stopped charging nuclear energy utilities the fee in 2014 after it stopped the licensing process for Nevada’s Yucca Mountain – a waste dump that cost the government billions of dollars but never opened.
The Trump administration proposed reviving Yucca in details of the budget released in March.
9 Comments on "Trump budget wants to halve oil stockpile, open Arctic refuge to drilling"
Buford Bustamonte Jackson III on Tue, 23rd May 2017 12:10 pm
Is the word ’emergency’ getting lost in the shuffle?
rockman on Tue, 23rd May 2017 3:16 pm
Just to be clear President Trump has no authority to liquidate one bbl of SPR oil. Even in the case of an emergency drawdown the CONGRESSIONAL LAW that controls the SPR requires that it be replaced. Congress is the only group that can change the law. Not even a presidential order can alter the rules. For example from Dec 2015:
“Two recently enacted laws authorize significant sales of crude oil from the SPR over the next decade. The Bipartisan Budget Act authorizes the sale of 58 million barrels of SPR oil between FY 2018-25 for deficit reduction purposes and an estimated 40-50 million barrels of oil in FY 2017-20 for SPR modernization. As part of the Bipartisan Budget Act, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is required to complete a long-term strategic review of the SPR to ensure it meets current and future energy and economic security goals and objectives. The Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act authorizes the sale of 66 million barrels of oil in FY 2023-25 to help support the Highway Trust Fund.”
And while there might be some potential agreement to do something along the lines of President Trump’s budget plans what happens in future years will be determined by the composition and will of the Congress at that time. Even those 2015 new laws cane be overturned by a new Congress.
Go Speed Racer on Tue, 23rd May 2017 5:10 pm
The Petroleum Reserve is a good idea.
Only a retard would propose emptying it out.
Hmmmm, lets put 2 and 2 together.
Theedrich on Tue, 23rd May 2017 6:28 pm
The ghost of Seth Rich is haunting the Demonics. Quite aside from the oil story, the latest is a post on ZeroHedge in which the Wikileaks intermediary (“Kim Dotcom,” out of New Zealand) says he will tell all about Rich (aka “Panda”) as the Wiki source of Demonic e-mails if given immunity and safe passage to and from the U.S. The Demonics are doing their best to turn Rich into Russia, and the MSM are happily helping them. Of course, the same herd that pants for the Second Coming (of Ø) any day now will also accept the myth about some Trump collusion with Putin. After all, the Mainstream Media would never lie, now, would it?
But the ghost refuses to die.
DerHundistlos on Tue, 23rd May 2017 10:52 pm
Theedrich,
You are one big mess so let me provide an update to your wet dream fantasy above.
News flash Mr. Clown………Fox News officially retracted its conspiracy story on the 2016 murder of Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich. The “fair and balanced” Fox said, “the Seth Rich story was not initially subjected to the high degree of editorial scrutiny we require for all our reporting. Upon appropriate review, the article was found not to meet those standards and has since been removed,”
How about you and Clogged returning to your other wet dream, PizzaFraud.
Truly pathetic and delusional.
DerHundistlos on Tue, 23rd May 2017 10:56 pm
Fox News falsely alleged federal authorities had found thousands of emails between Rich and Wikileaks, when in fact law enforcement officials disputed that Rich’s laptop had even been in possession of, or examined by, the FBI. Fox nonetheless continued to feature the report, which was widely characterized as an example of the “fake news” phenomenon.
Rich’s family pleaded with the network and host to suspend its promotion of a conspiracy theory.
Brad Bauman, a spokesman for the Rich family, told CNN earlier on Tuesday they were grateful for the retraction.
“The family would like to thank Fox News for their retraction on a story that has caused deep pain and anguish to the family and has done harm to Seth Rich’s legacy,” Bauman said in a statement.
“We are hopeful that in the future Fox News will work with the family to ensure the highest degree of professionalism and scrutiny is followed so that only accurate facts are reported serving this case.”
Theedrich on Wed, 24th May 2017 4:40 am
Well, doggie, what would you expect about the Rich murder but denial from the MSM, from a Jewish family dedicated to the Demonic Party, or from other sources (including certain components of Fox News) controlled by the Left? We can expect nothing but more lies and coverups from your side. As even Kunstler has admitted, The Demonics are creating all kinds of smoke and mirrors shifting blame and creating diversion regarding everything as they seek to destroy the country.
We know that Seth Rich was murdered, and that the police at first said it was a robbery attempt. When that was debunked, Rich’s laptop was sequestered and made impossible to search through. Shortly after his death, the Wikileaks revelations appeared, which were quickly blamed on the Russians (by Ø-controlled “intelligence” operations). Never mind that a long trail of mysterious “suicides” and other deaths have trailed the Clintons from their days in Arkansas.
Murder is a constant companion of politics everywhere, as are coverups for it. Why is there no serious investigation about the Rich murder? Why the absurd 24/7 MSM obsession with Russia?
And, of course, why is no serious attempt being made to find the leakers to the MSM on things like Flynn? Who are the famed “anonymous sources”?
You nihilists (including aliens such as the man-ape who dare not oppose their own tyrants) are worthless in any discussion about political facts. And Senator Schumer along with the other Demonic rot, including the vicious snowflakes on the campuses of taxpayer-funded institutions of “learning”) have nothing of value to say about anything.
Sissyfuss on Wed, 24th May 2017 10:02 am
Ah yes, the bankruptcy King is plying his art once again. But this time with a side order of ecodestruction.
Sissyfuss on Wed, 24th May 2017 10:09 am
Trump isn’t draining the swamp, he’s adding more toxic waste in the form of Goldman Sucks and the MIC.