Biden to announce release of up to 15 million barrels of oil from Strategic Petroleum Reserve

[Beachnutt]

CNBC
President Joe Biden will announce the release of up to 15 million more barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, sources familiar with the plan told CNBC.
The move aims to extend the current SPR delivery program through December.
An EU embargo on Russian oil is scheduled to go into effect on Dec. 5.
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https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/18/oil-prices-biden-to-announce-release-from-strategic-petroleum-reserve.html

[roamer65]

1. Glad I hung onto my parents flex fuel Chevy.

I got E50 the other day for $3 a gallon.

[Calculating]

2. Shouldn't we just pump more ourselves?

Why are we begging the Saudis and using up our strategic reserve? We have plenty of domestic energy. Not trying to criticize the current administration, but many are asking these questions.

[Chuuku Davis]

3. Yes

We should.

I don't think we should be looking to make deals with Saudi, Iran and/or Venezuela.

[DFW]

6. Maracaibo oil has traditionally been high sulfur

We wouldn't want it except as a last resort. Saudi oil has generally been easier to refine (light sweet crude). For me, that is ten year old info, though I haven't heard anything to the contrary. For the record (or, more accurately, off the record), we do business with Iran through the "back door." Embargo or not, there is exactly one country (Israel, of course) that they won't do business with. All others, take a ticket and get in line. Even Dick Cheney, though he changed the registration from his name to Halliburton's, keeps his house on the resort island of Kish, sort of the Iranian Hong Kong. A twin propellor Cessna can get there from Halliburton's HQ in Dubai in under an hour. There may be some invoicing hoops to go through so that the true players aren't readily apparent, but the business gets done.

[TexasTowelie]

4. It depends on the quality of crude oil and refining capacity.

U.S. refineries are at near-peak production capacity and generally use oil with lower sulfur content. The oil being released from the strategic reserve is of higher sulfur content and will be released on the world market where it will be purchased by countries that have the refineries to process the raw crude oil.

If a larger quantity of oil could be released then it would probably lower prices, but this amount (the equivalent of one week's reduction in OPEC+ crude oil) will not lower prices--the best that can be wished for is that it stabilizes prices.

We could try to pump more oil, but there are limits as to how much the U.S. can increase capacity. Those factors include the availability of oil field workers, oil field supplies, and refining capacity. The years of boom or bust in the oil field has lead to many people leaving those jobs for more stable professions.

[Beachnutt]

5. Oil is a global commodity

basically it's all tied together across the globe.
Google global commodity to learn more...(It's complicated).