Oil From U.S. Reserves Shipped Abroad As Gas Prices Rise

According to data and sources, more than 5 million barrels of oil were exported to Europe and Asia last month as part of a historic US emergency reserves release to mitigate rising global fuel prices, even as US gasoline and diesel prices hit record highs, Arathy Somasekhar reported for Reuters.

Photo Insert: US crude inventories are the lowest since 2004 as refineries run near peak levels. Refineries in the US Gulf coast were at 97.9% utilization, the most in three and a half years.

The export of crude and fuel is dampening the impact of US President Joe Biden's measures to decrease record pump prices. Biden reiterated his request for gasoline suppliers to lower their costs on Saturday, garnering criticism from Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.

Through October, approximately 1 million barrels per day will be released from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). The influx is depleting the SPR, which sank to its lowest level since 1986 last month.

Crude futures in the United States are trading above $100 per barrel, and gasoline and diesel prices in one-fifth of the country are trading above $5 a gallon. US officials have stated that if the SPR had not been used, oil prices could have risen higher.

"The SPR remains a critical energy security tool to address global crude oil supply disruptions," a Department of Energy spokesperson said, adding that the emergency releases helped ensure stable supply of crude oil.

According to US Customs records, Phillips 66, the fourth-largest US oil refiner, moved approximately 470,000 barrels of sour crude from the Big Hill SPR storage facility in Texas to Trieste, Italy. Trieste is home to a pipeline that transports oil to central European refineries.

According to the data, Atlantic Trading & Marketing (ATMI), a subsidiary of TotalEnergies in France, exported two cargoes of 560,000 barrels each.

According to an industry insider, cargoes of SPR crude were also en route to the Netherlands and India's Reliance refinery. According to another source, a third cargo is on its way to China. According to a shipping source, at least one cargo of oil from the West Hackberry SPR site in Louisiana was scheduled to be transported in July.

"Crude and fuel prices would likely be higher if (the SPR releases) hadn't happened, but at the same time, it isn't really having the effect that was assumed," said Matt Smith, lead oil analyst at Kpler.

The latest exports follow three vessels that carried SPR crude to Europe in April helping replace Russian crude supplies.

US crude inventories are at the lowest since 2004 as refineries run near peak levels. Refineries in the US Gulf coast were at 97.9% utilization, the most in three and a half years.

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