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Page added on March 7, 2011
White House considers tapping oil reserves
White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley said on Sunday the Obama administration is considering tapping into the U.S. strategic oil reserve as one way to help ease soaring oil prices.
Speaking on NBC television’s “Meet the Press,” Daley said: “We are looking at the options. The issue of the reserves is one we are considering. … All matters have to be on the table.”
There has been support among Senate Democrats for tapping the reserves. Senator Jay Rockefeller on Thursday became the third Democrat to ask President Barack Obama to tap America’s emergency oil supply to cool prices that have risen past $100 a barrel on the strife in Libya.
In a letter to Obama, Rockefeller said a “limited draw-down” from the nation’s 727-million-barrel Strategic Petroleum Reserve “can protect our national security by preventing or reducing the adverse impact of an oil shortage.”
On Wednesday, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu ruled out releasing oil from the reserve, saying ramped up oil production in Saudi Arabia should lower the crude price.
“That’s going to mitigate the price increase,” he told reporters on Wednesday. “We’re hoping market forces will take care of this.”
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Thursday the United States and other major economies could tap strategic reserves to keep oil prices from derailing a global recovery.
Geithner said high food and oil prices were causing hardships in many parts of the world. But he said Americans were feeling less impact.
4 Comments on "White House considers tapping oil reserves"
Anthony on Mon, 7th Mar 2011 7:26 am
OK, so instead of letting companies drill for our own oil, Obama wants to use up our emergency oil supply? This president has absolutely no idea what he is doing. On the other hand, maybe he wants to use up all available oil so he can force his devastating green agenda that no one wants in this country. He needs to be impeached for his incompetence.
Gale Whitaker on Mon, 7th Mar 2011 12:26 pm
Anthony – I agree that it is dumb to use oil from the SPR but does it make sense to you that there is an infinite supply of oil on the earth? I think not. What will happen to capitalism when production can’t keep up with demand? You know it will happen someday & alternatives are a joke. Do you have any idea how the world will survive when there isn’t enough oil to go around?
eastbay on Mon, 7th Mar 2011 3:10 pm
He knows the Saudi’s can’t ramp up production. What else can he do to manipulate prices? There’s only one place remaining: The SPR.
tommy dale on Tue, 8th Mar 2011 2:37 pm
What would it take to take oil off the stock market and have the government purchase it? I am not asking if this is the right thing to do. But how.Congress+Senate vote????