The United States to lend 53.3 million barrels of oil from their strategic reserve

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Additions were made on the borrowers in paragraph 2, as well as general information on the progress made by the United States under a global agreement to release oil from reserves by Timothy Gardner.

The Trump administration declared on Monday that it would prefer energy companies 53.3 million barrels of crude oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve under a global agreement to calm oil markets that have surged due to the war between the U.S. and Israel against Iran.

Nine companies, including Exxon Mobil, Trafigura, and Marathon Petroleum Company, have only borrowed about 58% of the 92.5 million barrels that the Energy Department proposed last month to lend from the SPR.

Last spring, the DOE had already lent about 80 million barrels from the SPR, as part of its goal to bring a total of 172 million barrels to the market.

The United States accepted this larger volume in March as part of a pact with more than 30 countries within the International Energy Agency (IEA) to bring about 400 million barrels to the market. This agreement aimed to lower oil and fuel prices, which were pushed up by Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint where about 20% of the world’s daily oil supply typically passes through.

Fatih Birol, the director of the IEA, said that the war had caused the most serious energy crisis ever seen. If supply disruptions due to the war persist, the IEA is ready to release additional oil from strategic reserves, Birol said on May 7. To date, member countries have released 20% of the available reserves, Birol noted.

The surge in fuel prices poses a risk for the Republicans, allies of President Donald Trump, who are campaigning to retain their slim majority in the U.S. Congress in the November midterm elections. Gasoline prices in the U.S. averaged $4.52 per gallon on Monday, their highest level since 2022, according to data from the AAA automotive association.

The DOE lends oil from the SPR to companies that will repay it in crude, with premiums up to 24%. The department claims that this system will help stabilize markets without any cost to American taxpayers.

The SPR, stored in underground caverns at four sites on the coasts of Texas and Louisiana, currently holds about 384 million barrels, less than what global consumption represents in four days.