# Strategic Oil Reserve **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 7, 2000, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strategic-oil-reserve/40133 "2000-11-07T16:30:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2000, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strategic-oil-reserve/40133/1 "2000-11-07T16:30:58Z")
Since the plan to release oil (what was it, 1 million BPD for a month?) to tame prices, I was wondering when they will try to refill the reserves. Does anyone know? Will they (the gvt) just wait until it is back to, say, $26 per Barrel? Will that drive the prices back up when they try to? I am not very well versed in Economics so I am unsure but curious. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Zor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/848f3c/32.png) [@Zor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zor)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2000, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strategic-oil-reserve/40133/2 "2000-11-07T17:01:00Z")
If I remember correctly, none of the oil was actually released or sold. The government just lent them out for a price that was lower than the market value at that time, and the lenders are supposed to return the oil and some interest within a few months, so the strategic oil reserve would actually grow in size. That, of course, is how it’s supposed to work. I have heard of totally uncredited rumors that some ranch farmer in the midwest somehow got hold of a few thousand barrels of oil from the reserve with the intention of stockpiling them and make a killing in the future…