Washington releases 8.5 million barrels of oil from reserves, second time since Iran war

(Patria) - The United States Department of Energy announced on Friday that it has lent 8.48 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to four oil companies, the second allocation as part of the Donald Trump administration's efforts to curb fuel prices that have risen during the US-Iran war, Reuters reported last night.

The companies to which SPR loans were allocated are Gunvor USA, Phillips 66 Company, Trafigura Trading, and Macquarie Commodities Trading, the Department of Energy announced.

The United States offered a loan of up to 10 million barrels in the second tranche on April 1.

Ultimately, Washington aims to lend 172 million barrels from the SPR for delivery during this year and until 2027. This is part of a broader agreement with 32 countries in the International Energy Agency (IEA) to release 400 million barrels.

The release of oil reserves aims to control oil prices, which have risen during the war, which the IEA said has led to the biggest disruption in the oil industry in history.

In the first tranche from the US SPR, energy companies took only 45.2 million barrels last month, or about 52 percent of what the Department of Energy offered.

Oil from the SPR is released in the form of loans that companies will return with additional barrels as a premium, a system that the Department of Energy says will help stabilize the market "at no cost to US taxpayers".