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Israeli media: At least two soldiers killed by anti-tank missile fired at Israeli army forces in the Gaza Strip
Local Syrian sources: Mortar shells fell on more than nine villages in the Sweida countryside
Local Syrian sources: Dozens of dead and wounded have arrived at Sweida hospitals as a result of ongoing clashes at several locations in the western Sweida countryside
Local sources: Civilians, including children and women, were injured in the al-Maqous neighborhood of Sweida, in Syria, as a result of ongoing clashes
Israeli media outlet: Security incident reported in the Gaza Strip
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson: No new date or venue has been set for the meeting between Araghchi and Witkoff, and no negotiations will take place until the outcome is guaranteed
Palestinian platforms: Settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque complex under the protection of the occupation police
Palestinian platforms: The IOF detonated a booby-trapped robot east of the al-Zaytoun neighborhood, south of Gaza City
Syrian Defense: We call on all parties in Sweida to cooperate with security forces and exercise restraint
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese Army is continuing its investigations and will later announce any information that does not affect the confidentiality of the investigation

US oil giants caught selling oil reserves to EU for profit

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 14 Feb 2023 10:04
3 Min Read

Oil firms in the US have been taking advantage and profiting massively through the sale of SPR petroleum in Europe, where the prices are even higher.  

  • x
  • Crude oil tanks in Cushing, Oklahoma in April 2020 (Reuters)
    Crude oil tanks in Cushing, Oklahoma in April 2020 (Reuters)

While the Biden administration was attempting to relieve high gas prices by using the country's Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), US oil giants were caught hauling it to Europe where the price is even higher than the US, making "more money than God" as US President Joe Biden put it.

As another 26 million barrels of crude oil from the SPR is set to be released from the US Department of Energy (DoE) according to US reports, the SPR currently holds approximately 371.58 million barrels of oil and a storage capacity of 714 million barrels, per Energy Information Administration (EIA) data.

Read next: SPR crude inventories hit their lowest since January 1984 

After reaching a record 16-month low in December, gas prices began to skyrocket again. $3.091 per gallon was the average price in December 2022, but when February hit, it went back up to $3.444 per gallon per the EIA.

Related News

Oil prices plunge over 3% as US reserves rise by 3.6mln barrels

Trump at Davos: Blames Biden for 'economic chaos', vows energy reforms

More Republican control

This comes amid a wave of changes by the new Republican-controlled House of Representatives - one being the introduction of a bill to limit the DoE's ability to release SPR stocks without approving more oil drilling on federal lands.

The SPR reached a historic low last year to make up for the loss of Russian energy exports due to the Western-imposed sanctions against Russia. In turn, prices of oil, energy and gas rose to record highs. Even though prices have been decreasing to a certain extent, they remain relatively high. Furthermore, the OPEC+ output cut exacerbated the use of SPR. 

Following the vote at OPEC+ that ratified the slashing of 2 million barrels per day in oil production, the US decided to tap further into their oil reserves. 

Despite this, oil firms in the US have been taking advantage and profiting massively through the sale of SPR petroleum in Europe, where the prices are even higher.  

Back in November, Biden called on oil and gas companies to use their record profits to lower energy costs, after he criticized major oil corporations for reeling in heaps of profit while Americans are paying substantial numbers to fill their vehicles with fuel. 

The US Department of Energy announced in December that it will purchase 3 million barrels of oil to replace withdrawals from the SPR due to high energy prices.

  • Strategic Petroleum Reserve
  • Europe
  • US oil reserves
  • US
  • US Oil Prices
  • Joe Biden
  • Crude oil

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