US could adjust timing of oil stockpile release if prices fall

The Biden administration could adjust the timing of its planned release of strategic crude oil stockpiles if global energy prices drop substantially, US Deputy Energy Secretary David Turk told Reuters on Wednesday.

Turk, speaking in a video interview for the Reuters Next conference, added that other consumer nations that had agreed to release strategic reserves in concert with the United States to tame prices could also adjust their timing, if needed. I think each country will make decisions based on what's useful and good for their consumers and based on where the price is, he said.

Turk added that the administration is also considering the merits of a proposal by some lawmakers to ban crude oil exports to keep domestic consumer fuel prices in check, and that the decision would ultimately rest with President Joe Biden.

A spokesperson for the Department of Energy said after the interview that the department has no current plans to alter the timing or the size of the stockpile releases.

The Biden administration had announced last month it would release 50 million barrels from the SPR, with deliveries beginning as soon as January.

The move would come alongside smaller releases from China, India, Japan, South Korea and Britain, to help lower consumer energy costs.

The unusual agreement among oil-consuming nations to coordinate stockpile releases was designed to tame soaring energy prices after the OPEC producer group and its allies rebuffed repeated requests from Washington to pump more quickly to match rising demand as the world began to exit the pandemic.

Oil prices have since declined, however, amid worries that the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus will spread and trigger extensive lockdowns, reducing global energy demand. After Turk's comments, US oil prices settled down 61 cents at $65.57 a barrel.

The president gave us flexibility, Turk, one of several administration officials who meet regularly to discuss energy security, said about the US planned release of strategic stockpiles.