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pookshuman t1_isww39i wrote

what the fuck is the point of calling it a strategic reserve when every president uses it as an economic reserve?

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[deleted] t1_isxarvu wrote

That's exactly what 'Strategic' means. Save up when the price is low, use the reserve when the price is high. Common sense capitalism is a strategy.

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No___ImRight t1_isxkhoa wrote

Then why did Democrats block Trump from filing the reserves up when oil was going for $24/barrel?

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-09-13/biden-may-buy-oil-just-below-80-democrats-stymied-trump-at-24?leadSource=uverify%20wall

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JohnnyUtah_QB1 t1_isxljlp wrote

Our reserves were stocked up at that time, that wasn't about replenishing reserves, that was an obviously transparent effort to bail out oil companies/investors.

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No___ImRight t1_isxlxgx wrote

In March of 2008 we had 730 million barrels in reserve.

In March of 2020 (when we were talking about buying at $24/barrel) we were down to 640 million barrels.

We had room.

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baxterstate t1_isy2931 wrote

We desperately need to bring down the cost of oil to prevent Republicans from winning the midterms. Isn’t that enough of a crisis?

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JohnnyUtah_QB1 t1_isxn6l0 wrote

It wasn't needed. Obviously because even though we just heavily tapped it we had enough and still have plenty left, we didn't run dry.

We don't need to set our reserve policy based on what's best for the oil industry at that moment, that's beyond moronic. Likewise we don't need the government gambling on oil futures. That's the type of energy policy someone who comes up with the idea of injecting Lysol to cure Covid would come up with.

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JohnnyUtah_QB1 t1_isxl8bl wrote

What is the point of having it if we don't use it when things get tight? This is how strategic reserves work...

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[deleted] t1_isxuv5t wrote

[removed]

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JohnnyUtah_QB1 t1_isxwo0v wrote

>We’re supposed to have it there in case of war or Arab oil embargo.

If these things happen we can just stop exporting our domestic supply. We largely solved this problem in the wake of Katrina and the huge oil prices in the 2000s. Those shake ups and lasting high prices incentivized the reestablishment of American oil production and we rebuilt our North American supply. That's a big reason why pre-Covid prices were so low compared to the decade prior. We finally had all that 2000s infrastructure coming online.

We currently sell off much of our domestic supply as that light sweet crude sells well on international markets, but if those things you're talking about come to bear we're just going to shut down exports.

The strategic reserve is the small button intended for market corrections. We have a much bigger button to press now if things really hit the fan.

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Turambar87 t1_isy0ci5 wrote

OPEC trying to get Republicans elected is an act of war against the US, they are trying to destroy the nation.

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[deleted] t1_isy2nwc wrote

[removed]

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r3rg54 t1_it2338a wrote

That's kind of irrelevant though since us oil companies don't really want to increase the pace of drilling.

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Particular-Board2328 t1_iswwd12 wrote

700 million barrels of oil sitting around for decades....

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pookshuman t1_iswxiru wrote

that's what reserves do, that is literally all they do, sit around

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