The U.S. will release 172 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help lower energy costs during the Iran war, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Wednesday evening.
The U.S. will start releasing barrels next week but it will take about 120 days to deliver them all, Wright said. President Donald Trump said earlier that he would tap the reserve to keep a lid on energy prices.
“We’ll do that, and then we’ll fill it up,” Trump said in an interview with Cincinnati broadcaster WKRC.
“I filled it up once, and I’ll fill it up again, but right now, we’ll reduce it a little bit, and that brings the prices down,” the president said.
Gasoline prices in the U.S. have risen to about $3.58 per gallon on average as the Iran war has triggered a massive disruption of global oil supplies, according to motorist group AAA. The current retail price is nearly 22% higher than the same period last month when gas cost about $2.94.
The U.S. currently has 415 million barrels in its reserve, about 58% of the authorized capacity of 714 million barrels. Trump has fiercely criticized former President Joe Biden for tapping the reserve.
Wright said the Trump administration will replace the oil that it is releasing with 200 milllion barrels within the next year at no cost to the taxpayer.
Trump’s decision comes after the International Energy Agency agreed Wednesday to release 400 million barrels of oil to address the supply disruption. It is the largest release in the more than 50-year history of the IEA.
The U.S. release is part of the broader IEA effort, Wright said. The U.S. is a member of the IEA along with more than 30 other economies in Europe, North America and Northeast Asia.