The Trump administration will tap the nation’s oil reserves in an effort to curb rising gas prices amid global supply disruptions triggered by the war in Iran.
On Wednesday, Energy Secretary Chris Wright announced plans to release 172 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve beginning next week, with the drawdown expected to unfold over roughly four months.
The move is part of a coordinated initiative with all 32 members of the International Energy Agency, which “unanimously agreed” to release a combined 400 million barrels.
In the past, Trump repeatedly criticized former President Joe Biden for drawing on the reserve after the start of the Ukraine war. But during visits to Kentucky and Ohio on Wednesday, Trump defended his own decision to do the same.
“We’ll do that, and then we’ll fill it up,” the 79-year-old Republican president told a Cincinnati news station. “I filled it up once, and I’ll fill it up again. But right now, we’ll reduce it a little bit, and that brings the prices down.”
Wright, a former fracking executive, also justified the administration’s move, arguing that it differs from Biden’s approach.
“Unlike the previous administration, which left America’s oil reserves drained and damaged, the United States has arranged to more than replace these strategic reserves with approximately 200 million barrels within the next year—20 percent more barrels than will be drawn down—and at no cost to the taxpayer,” Wright said.
“Rest assured, America’s energy security is as strong as ever,” he added.
The nation’s reserve, the largest supply of emergency crude, was established by President Gerald Ford in 1975 to reduce the effect of disruptions to global oil supply. The federally-owned cache, which has a capacity of 714 million barrels, is stored in underground caverns along the Gulf Coast.
In addition to Biden and Trump, multiple other previous presidents have utilized the reserves. Barack Obama tapped the supply in 2011, following the outbreak of Libya’s civil war, and George H.W. Bush did the same in 1990 and 1991, after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.
Currently, the stockpile holds about 415 million barrels, according to the Department of Energy, meaning it is less than 60 percent full. The U.S. uses up roughly 20 million barrels of oil crude oil per day.
The Trump administration’s coordinated decision to tap the reserve comes after oil prices skyrocketed following the outbreak of the Iran war in late February — which has engulfed the broader Middle East region and shows no signs of ending.
Last week, oil surged past the $100-a-barrel milestone, after recording its largest one-week spike since March 1983. On Thursday, oil prices spiked again. The national average gas price stood at , up 34 cents from last week, according to AAA.
Trump has claimed that higher oil prices are a “very small price to pay” for global “peace and safety.” Wright has acknowledged that Americans may feel pain at the gas pump “for weeks” — but not longer.
Geopolitical crises tend to have a direct impact on oil prices since refineries and shipping routes are often affected. The Iran war is no exception as tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz — a vital trade artery through which roughly 20 percent of global crude travels — has dramatically diminished.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have warned that any ship passing through the channel will be targeted. Several vessels have been struck with projectiles in recent days.
Polls show that Trump’s war in Iran is unpopular with Americans. A majority of registered voters, 53 percent, oppose U.S. military action against the Middle Eastern nation, according to a new Quinnipiac Poll conducted over the weekend. A new Ipsos poll also found that more disapprove than approve of the strikes.
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