When is the President -- or what conversations have been happening right now about tapping into the Strategic Oil Reserve?
Reid suggested the president instead focus on releasing oil from the strategic oil reserve, speeding up production in areas already open for drilling and cracking down on oil traders.
"I have said and, in fact, supported a congressional resolution that said we should suspend putting more oil into the strategic oil reserve, but the strategic oil reserve I think has to be reserved for a genuine emergency, " he said on July 7.
Short of cutting petrol taxes still further (John McCain and Hillary Clinton proposed a tax holiday during the 2008 race), or mounting an irresponsible raid on the strategic oil reserve for political purposes, he has no ready way to make petrol cheaper for the American voter.
There are reports that the administration is considering releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Another suggestion, to release some oil from the strategic reserve, would bring a temporary benefit at best.
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The "get Bush" crowd advocates releasing oil from the strategic petroleum reserve in order to bring market prices back down.
And second, does it lessen the chances of a triggering of the withdrawal of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve?
Several Democratic members of Congress have asked the President to consider releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to keep prices from rising too much.
President Bush could help to once and for all pop the oil-price bubble by selling oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve on a more regular basis.
Just such an event seems to have occurred in May, with the passage of a bill to halt deliveries of crude oil to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
In 1978 an explosion at the Hackberry, La. complex that holds oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve killed one worker and burned for days with a fireball that billowed dozens of feet in the air.
Yet another idea, to release some oil from America's Strategic Petroleum Reserve, would doubtless help to bring prices down briefly.
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Tapping into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help offset rising oil prices is another way to keep prices stable, albeit short term.
Presidents have also on occasion performed the same act of modest market manipulation using the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve with its 700 million barrels of oil stored on the Gulf coast of Texas and Louisiana.
The Department of Energy is releasing supplies from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve to limit disruptions of supplies to oil refineries, which "will help take some pressure off of gas prices, " and the Environmental Protection Agency has waived rules requiring low-pollution blends in some areas in order to increase availability of gas and diesel, he said.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve was authorized in 1975 and began receiving crude oil in 1977.
When a hurricane strikes in the Gulf of Mexico, this country should not be so dependent on imported oil that we are forced to draw from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
For example, the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve has the ability to supply total U.S. oil import needs for approximately 80 days.
In this election year, rising oil prices will inevitably raise the question about the purpose of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve: Is it to be used as a tool for price controls?
In recent days there has been much discussion about energy, with each of you mapping out sharply contrasting positions concerning drawing down the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and opening up part of the Alaska National Wildlife Arctic Reserve to drilling for oil and gas.
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