A further 26.03 million barrels of crude oil have been provided as a loan by the US Department of Energy to nine petroleum companies from its West Hackberry Strategic Petroleum Reserve facility.
This distribution is the third instalment under an initiative by the Trump administration to provide 172 million barrels as part of an International Energy Agency effort to stabilise global supply.
To date, 126 million barrels have been issued across three phases to various industry players, including BP Products North America, Marathon Petroleum, and ExxonMobil Oil Corp, according to a statement from the department, reports Al Jazeera.
Kyle Haustveit, the assistant secretary for the Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office, explained that the emergency exchange allows the department to act rapidly in meeting immediate supply demands while fortifying the reserve’s long-term position.
Haustveit further noted that the arrangement ensures market reliability at no expense to the taxpayer, providing value to the public through the eventual return of high-quality barrels.
