S&P 500
7,614.20
-0.11%
Dow Jones
51,331.00
-0.08%
Nasdaq 100
30,633.50
-0.27%
Russell 2000
2,927.38
-0.19%
FTSE 100
10,381.80
-0.06%
Nikkei 225
68,209.20
+1.05%

Energy

Release Stategic Petroleum Reserve Supply

Photo of Douglas A. McIntyre
By Douglas A. McIntyre Published
This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

Invalid Image
Less than a year ago — in June 2011 — the Obama Administration decided to release 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. This amount was matched by 30 million barrels from the International Energy Agency members. The decision was prompted by the threat that crude exports from Libya could be hurt by the civil war there. Within a little over a month after the announcement, the price of WTI fell from about $100 to just above $80. The impact of the decision may have been as much psychological as a matter of supply and demand. Whatever the reason for the outcome, it is time to make the same decision again.

The SPR contains approximately 700 million barrels. A release of 10% of that amount, in concert with another action by the IEA, might not push crude to $90 or $95, but it could stop the move that has taken the price from about $94 to $110 in less that three months. To consumers and business that are threatened by $4 a gallon gasoline and higher prices for industrial oil and petrochemicals, the decision would say that the U.S. government will not stand idly by as concerns about Iran and a possible blockade of the Strait of Hormuz push WTI crude to $120 or higher.

How does a decision to release several tens of millions of barrels from the SPR hurt the White House? It is difficult to come up with a reason. The federal government has the money to replace the crude over time, even if the price is higher than the one that it paid to get the level of the reserve to where it is today.

If this is not the time to take a modest risk with the plan to bring down crude, when is?

Douglas A. McIntyre

DISCLOSURE:
INVESTMENTS ARE NOT FDIC INSURED • ARE NOT BANK GUARANTEED • MAY LOSE VALUE Brokerage and Active investing products offered through SoFi Securities LLC, member FINRA(www.finra.org)/SIPC(www.sipc.org). Advisory services are offered by SoFi Wealth LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. Information about SoFi Wealth’s advisory operations, services, and fees is set forth in SoFi Wealth’s current Form ADV Part 2 (Brochure), a copy of which is available upon request and at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov. Probability of Member receiving $1,000 is a probability of 0.026%; If you don’t make a selection in 30 days, you’ll no longer qualify for the promo. Customer must fund their account with a minimum of $50.00 to qualify. Other fees, such as exchange fees, may apply. Please view our fee disclosure to view a full listing of fees. Investing in alternative investments and/or strategies may not be suitable for all investors and involves unique risks, including the risk of loss. An investor should consider their individual circumstances and any investment information, such as a prospectus, prior to investing. Interval Funds are illiquid instruments, the ability to trade on your timeline may be restricted. Brokerage and Active investing products offered through SoFi Securities LLC, Member FINRA(www.finra.org) /SIPC(www.sipc.org). There are limitations with fractional shares to consider before investing. During market hours fractional share orders are transmitted immediately in the order received. There may be system delays from receipt of your order until execution and market conditions may adversely impact execution prices. Outside of market hours orders are received on a not held basis and will be aggregated for each security then executed in the morning trade window of the next business day at market open. Share will be delivered at an average price received for executing the securities through a single batched order. Fractional shares may not be transferred to another firm. Fractional shares will be sold when a transfer or closure request is initiated. Please consider that selling securities is a taxable event. Options involve risks, including substantial risk of loss and the possibility an investor may lose the entire investment Before trading options please review the Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options  Investing in an Initial Public Offering (IPO) involves substantial risk, including the risk of loss. Further, there are a variety of risk factors to consider when investing in an IPO, including but not limited to, unproven management, significant debt, and lack of operating history. For a comprehensive discussion of these risks please refer to SoFi Securities’ IPO Risk Disclosure Statement This should not be considered a recommendation to participate in IPOs and investors should carefully read the offering prospectus to determine whether an offering is consistent with their investment objectives, risk tolerance, and financial situation. New offerings generally have high demand and there are a limited number of shares available for distribution to participants. Many customers may not be allocated shares and share allocations may be significantly smaller than the shares requested in the customer’s initial offer (Indication of Interest). For more information on the allocation process please visit IPO Allocation.
Follow 24/7 Wall St. on Google
Photo of Douglas A. McIntyre
About the Author Douglas A. McIntyre →

Douglas A. McIntyre is the co-founder, chief executive officer and editor in chief of 24/7 Wall St. and 24/7 Tempo. He has held these jobs since 2006.

McIntyre has written thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St. He is an expert on corporate finance, the automotive industry, media companies and international finance. He has edited articles on national demographics, sports, personal income and travel.

His work has been quoted or mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Time, The New Yorker, HuffPost USA Today, Business Insider, Yahoo, AOL, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian and many other major publications. McIntyre has been a guest on CNBC, the BBC and television and radio stations across the country.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, McIntyre also was president of The Harvard Advocate. Founded in 1866, the Advocate is the oldest college publication in the United States.

TheStreet.com, Comps.com and Edgar Online are some of the public companies for which McIntyre served on the board of directors. He was a Vicinity Corporation board member when the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002. He served on the audit committees of some of these companies.

McIntyre has been the CEO of FutureSource, a provider of trading terminals and news to commodities and futures traders. He was president of Switchboard, the online phone directory company. He served as chairman and CEO of On2 Technologies, the video compression company that provided video compression software for Adobe’s Flash. Google bought On2 in 2009.

Continue Reading

Douglas A. McIntyre |

What Would Push Gas Prices Back To $3?

AAA reports that the average price of a gallon of gasoline yesterday was $3.943. A year ago, that figure was…

Crude Oil at 18-Year Low, Energy Stocks Crushed
Paul Ausick |

Crude Oil at 18-Year Low, Energy Stocks Crushed

Crude oil prices have dropped to near two-decade lows as the Saudis affirm their production increase and the coronavirus slices…

Paul Ausick |

Gasoline Prices Continue Falling

The decision taken yesterday at the OPEC oil ministers’ meeting in Vienna to formalize a new production limit of 30…

Will Crude Oil Price Remain Above $50 a Barrel?
Paul Ausick |

Will Crude Oil Price Remain Above $50 a Barrel?

For the first time in three months, the price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil appears…

US Keeps 645 Million Barrels of Oil Buried Under Ground for Emergencies
Douglas A. McIntyre |

US Keeps 645 Million Barrels of Oil Buried Under Ground for Emergencies

The last massive release of crude from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve was in 1991, when conflicts in the Middle…

Douglas A. McIntyre |

China’s Oil Demand Slackens

The General Administration of Customs said China’s crude oil imports were 253.8 million tons in 2011. The figure in December…

After 3 Years, Brent Crude Tops $70 a Barrel Again
Paul Ausick |

After 3 Years, Brent Crude Tops $70 a Barrel Again

A barrel of benchmark Brent crude oil traded above $70 in London on Thursday, the first time Brent has reached…

Douglas A. McIntyre |

Cutting Oil Prices, Open The Strategic Petroleum Reserve

OPEC President Chakib Khelil says that petroleum prices will stay at the current levels until the end of the year.…

Bitcoin Price: The Oil Reserves Keeping Markets Alive Are About to Run Out — Why BTC Could Be in Trouble
Sam Daodu |

Bitcoin Price: The Oil Reserves Keeping Markets Alive Are About to Run Out — Why BTC Could Be in Trouble

The Bitcoin price has spent five weeks bouncing between $60,000 and $73,000. BTC rallies when Trump hints at ending the…

Top Gaining Stocks

Hewlett Packard Enterprise
HPE • Vol: 153,197,465
Enphase Energy
ENPH • Vol: 8,360,053
Corning
GLW • Vol: 18,152,646
Alexandria Real Estate Equities
ARE • Vol: 4,337,015
Aptiv
APTV • Vol: 6,761,325

Top Losing Stocks

Trade Desk
TTD • Vol: 21,905,513
Intuit
INTU • Vol: 7,383,018
Coterra Energy
CTRA • Vol: 73,319,495
Cboe Global Markets
CBOE • Vol: 5,000,011
HP
HPQ • Vol: 29,259,826