U.S. fills oil reserve for emergency

[struggle4progress]

Stephen Voss and Mark Shenk
Bloomberg News
Aug. 20, 2005 12:00 AM

The United States has filled its Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the nation's emergency stockpile of crude oil, to the 700 million-barrel level ordered by President Bush after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The reserve held 700.1 million barrels of crude oil as of Aug. 18, of which 41 percent was classified as sweet, or low-sulfur oil, according to a U.S. Energy Department Web site.

Filling the reserve improves "security and protects citizens so that a disruption of oil shipments won't have a huge impact," Craig Stevens, an Energy Department spokesman said Friday. "The disruption could occur as the result of a natural disaster, including a hurricane or a terrorist attack."

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/0820oilreserve20.html

[Robb]

1. Doesn't something in the energy bill call for more?

...Or did I dream that?

[whistle]

2. That reserve will be good for 14 days (700 million / 50 million

....per day).

[hatrack]

5. It's actually good for about six weeks

US oil consumption is just under 20 million barrels per day.

[whistle]

10. ok thanks

[TahitiNut]

21. Or almost three years of military use @ 250 million barrels/year

Those bombers, fighters, humvees, tanks, destroyers, and aircraft carriers don't operate on Duracells. :shrug:

[Jack_DeLeon]

25. Should be more than enough to secure Iran's resources for ourselves...

:shrug:

[Oerdin]

23. Only if no other production is available.

I doubt we'll see a total end to production and imports in any scenerio. We're unlikely to see massive disruptions in supplies from North American production which cover slightly more then half our supply though middle eastern, African, and South American supplies are more iffy. We haven't increased the total reserve capacity since the 1970's while daily demand has skyrocketed since then. There is no question that we need to triple or quadrouple the SPR if we want it to continue to fill the needed function.

[seriousstan]

3. I think Clinton released 12 mill in '96. So is that how much was repalced?

[LincolnMcGrath]

6. Another Flip FLop or two just for you

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=4390644&mesg_id=4390644

[seriousstan]

7. I asked a question. I didn't find the answer in your post.

Is this the amount they are talking about?

Information leads to knowledge, you should try it.

[LincolnMcGrath]

8. Sorry I don't meet your high standards

[seriousstan]

9. Sorry. I took the "just for you" in the wrong way I guess.

Good luck and good posting.

[ConcernedCanuk]

16. Actually it was his Daddy during Gulf War 1 - now that's a shocker!

.
.
.

Well Daddy Bush was the first to draw on it in 1991,

Then Clinton from 97 - 99 - info/links below



"On January 16, 1991, coinciding with the international effort to counter the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, President George H.W. Bush ordered the first-ever emergency drawdown of the SPR. The Department of Energy immediately implemented a drawdown plan to sell 33.75 million barrels of crude oil, the United States' portion agreed to by the International Energy Agency.

The drawdown proceeded on schedule and without major complications. Between the initial authorization and the final sale, however, world oil supplies and prices stabilized, and the United States reduced the sales amount to 17.3 million barrels which were sold to 13 companies."

http://www.fe.doe.gov/programs/reserves/spr/


MORE INTERESTING STUFF

Past Sales

* 1985 - Test Sale - 1.1 million barrels
* 1990/91 Desert Shield/Storm sale - 21 million barrels
(4 million in August 1990 test sale; 17 million in January 1991 Presidentially-ordered drawdown)
* 1996-97 total non-emergency sales - 28 million barrels

http://www.fe.doe.gov/programs/reserves/spr/spr-facts.html

check them links out!!

- all sorts of goodies, and follow up links in there

[seriousstan]

19. So we are talking about less than 2 days worth in any of the transactions.

I am beginning to think this is non-consequential.

[Starfury]

4. Gee, will that stop the oil companies from gouging us...? n/t

[mbperrin]

28. Nope. We BUY the oil for the reserve at top dollar.

Then we sell it back to the same companies for LESS!

Sweet, eh?

[Clovis Sangrail]

29. I don't follow

how we'd be selling it back for less.

If the dollar cost average of the oil, per barrel, in the reserves is $27.25 and it's sold at 90%+ of market value (~$54 per barrel)...
that would be at a profit in today's market.

If the oil was bought yesterday and sold today it likely would be at a huge loss.

"the law governing the sale specified that the Energy Department could not accept any bid for less than 90 percent of market price for similar quality crudes"

http://www.fe.doe.gov/programs/reserves/spr/spr-drawdown.html

[sintax]

11. US uses 21,930,000 Barrels/day

US OIL DEMAND, 2004: Over 20 million barrels per day, up from January 2002, when demand was about 18.5 million barrels per day, = 777 million gallons. If lined up in 1-gallon cans, they would encircle the earth at the equator almost 6 times (about 147,000 miles of cans) — every day. Here's another image: EVERY DAY, the US consumes enough oil to cover a football field with a column of oil 2500 feet tall. That's 121 million cubic feet. 55-60% of US consumption is imported at a cost of $50 billion+ per year, amounting to the largest single element of our trade deficit. In summer 2004, thanks to higher prices, increased demand, and lower production, record trade deficits of more than $50 billion per month were recorded, with approximately 30% of that attributable to imported energy costs. In September 2004, the US reported its lowest montly oil production in 55 years, at an average of 4.85 million barrels per day.



Costs to produce and sell a gallon of gasoline in the US
One barrel of crude oil makes about 19½ gallons of gasoline, 9 gallons of fuel oil, 4 gallons of jet fuel, and 11 gallons of other products, including lubricants, kerosene, asphalt, and petrochemical feedstocks to make plastics. The ultimate cost of a gallon of gas at the service station depends mostly on the price of crude oil, and most of the profit after expenses goes to the owner-producers of the oil, whether they are governments or oil producing companies. The following table shows an approximate breakdown of the costs that go into a gallon of gas in the US. Almost everywhere in the world outside the US, people pay MUCH more for gasoline, largely because of much larger government taxes, which amount to around $3 to $4 per gallon in many European countries. In the categories "Production cost" and "Producer profit" the values show a range from Saudi Arabian production to USA production. Naturally, all the other values may vary some as well; these are general estimates.
http://www.gravmag.com/oil.html

[kestrel91316]

12. And exactly where is this reserve physically located??

[barb162]

14. Louisiana salt domes as I recall

[kestrel91316]

27. Oh, now I remember.........thanks

[high density]

13. "Disruption of oil shipments won't have a huge impact..."

Yeah, right.

[niallmac]

15. What exactly IS the Strategic Reserve?

Is it a hole in the ground? How does it get distributed to refineries and how many on each coast get the oil? When we suck up most of the 700 million barrels and are working on the last .1million is there a big sucking sound like a straw at tne bottom of a soda glass?
Should we have been spending a little more attention to alternative fuels before now?
Ya think?

[ConcernedCanuk]

17. LINKS to Reserve info

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.
.

http://www.fe.doe.gov/programs/reserves/spr/spr-facts.html



The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is the world's largest supply of emergency crude oil. The federally-owned oil stocks are stored in huge underground salt caverns along the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico.

http://www.fe.doe.gov/programs/reserves/spr/

[niallmac]

20. Thanks for the links. Is IS a huge hole in the ground.

I still don't quite understand how the crude is sent to the buyers but I am guessing a crude oil pipe line network exists that I was unaware of.

[Burried News]

18. OK then lets' get ready to rumble in Iran, Syria and Korea.

Wonder what the average per barrel price was? Is there any chance they pumped it from Texas into Louisiana - that would make it really really sweet crude.

[PurityOfEssence]

22. for an emergency that he is creating

You can't fuck the rest of the world if you don't have a bit of a cushion.

[burrowowl]

24. Have to be able to fule military vehicles

in case the Sheeple revolt.
"Filling the reserve improves "security and protects citizens so that a disruption of oil shipments won't have a huge impact," Craig Stevens, an Energy Department spokesman said Friday. "The disruption could occur as the result of a natural disaster, including a hurricane or a terrorist attack."
B$!

[Rose Siding]

26. I'm sure George's contacts in the industery got us a great price!

:sarcasm:

This must be some of that 'patriotic' shopping.

[hopein08]

30. So, shouldn't that mean that...

any more oil we get into the country can now be used for say...filling up the average SUV and thereby lowering gas prices?

Nah, what am I thinking? Why would George W. want to do that, help the people I mean? You would think that he'd have it out for the people running oil companies. You know, the old, "I sucked at that job. I hate you because you better than me. Now I'm in control."

[obxhead]

31. So how long would 700 million barrels last?

This is such BS
"The disruption could occur as the result of a natural disaster, including a hurricane or a terrorist attack."

So now a terra attack is a "natural disaster".
Oil is going through the roof and we can blame it all on the family and friends that have been setting it up for the last 24 years.

[Renew Deal]

32. 700 million barrels is 1/10th of our annual usage.

That's about 1 months worth.