# What's up with the strategic oil reserve ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 17, 2002, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-the-strategic-oil-reserve/143322 "2002-12-17T13:37:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2002, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-the-strategic-oil-reserve/143322/1 "2002-12-17T13:37:50Z")
I heard half a soundbyte last night about the president releasing oil from the reserve in order to stabilize gasoline prices in the face of the Venezualan strike. Is that happening ? Why is there no uproar about it as there was when Clinton suggested doing the same ? ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2002, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-the-strategic-oil-reserve/143322/2 "2002-12-17T13:40:09Z")
My WAG is that trade rules prevent Canada and Mexico from _not_ selling oil and gas to the US, meaning that the US no longer needs to depend on its own inventory. Note that I haven’t checked into this-- I just seem to recall something along these lines being discussed the last time this was an issue. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2002, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-the-strategic-oil-reserve/143322/3 "2002-12-17T13:56:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Barbarian \* > My WAG is that trade rules prevent Canada and Mexico from _not_ selling oil and gas to the US, meaning that the US no longer needs to depend on its own inventory. Even if that’s so, what does it have to do with Venezuela? ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2002, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-the-strategic-oil-reserve/143322/4 "2002-12-17T15:33:31Z")
Simple: SOuth America has a significant quantity of Oil, and the Venezualan Strike is sending the price all over the place. The President is ensuring stability. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2002, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-the-strategic-oil-reserve/143322/5 "2002-12-17T16:17:53Z")
Yeah. I got the point about releasing oil from the reserves to increase supply. I was wondering what **Barbarian** ’s comments about the US’s trade agreements with Canada and Mexico was all about. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2002, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-the-strategic-oil-reserve/143322/6 "2002-12-17T19:22:10Z")
Let me restate the question a little here. The only place I’ve heard anything about tapping the strategic oil reserve was in a couple senetences on the “nightly business report” last night. A search of google news for [“strategic oil reserve”](http://news.google.com/news?q=+%22strategic+oil+reserve%22&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&safe=off&as_qdr=all&sa=N&tab=wn) turns up squat. Google turns up a recent bit on filling the reserve [here](http://www.fe.doe.gov/techline/tl_spr592.shtml), but nothing on diversions or drawdowns. So what’s the straight dope here ? Is oil being moved from the reserve or not ? Are the nightly business guys really in touch with the energy pulse of america, or are they just saying things to make us feel good about the economy ? [Here’s a piece](http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/economy/july-dec00/oil_9-21.html) on the controversy that erupt the last time someone proposed tapping the reserves. ---
**Author:** ![X\_Slayer\_ALE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/bbe5ce/32.png) [@X\_Slayer\_ALE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/X_Slayer_ALE)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2002, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-the-strategic-oil-reserve/143322/7 "2002-12-17T21:36:22Z")
Well, heres the skinny. If you read the articles linked on the left of the site you posted, you will see the gas crisis as it was unfolding at the time. Heres the funny part. There wasnt any oil shortage. The prices were high and any person with the basic grasp of economics would automatically think that it was due to a shortage. Fact of the matter is, the prices were high in europe because of too much taxation and their prices affected US prices. The big stink was that AL Gore suggested to tap the US oil reserves to stabilize gas prices. If there is no oil shortage, why should the oil reserves be tapped? what would happen when there actually was an oil shortage? Todays situation does involve an small oil shortage. everyone could see that and everyone agrees that tapping into the reserves for this situation is logical. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2002, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-the-strategic-oil-reserve/143322/8 "2002-12-17T21:49:13Z")
Bush is **not** releasing oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve to stabilize oil supplies: > [@](#): > > To keep U.S. oil supplies flowing during the strike, the Energy Department has allowed several oil firms **to delay delivering** 6 million barrels of crude oil to the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve. > > The department said the move would help keep plenty of crude oil in the U.S. market during the Venezuelan strike. (Emphasis mine.) Source: [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2313-2002Dec17.html](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2313-2002Dec17.html) ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2002, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-the-strategic-oil-reserve/143322/9 "2002-12-17T22:07:09Z")
Thanks Duckster ! Still, it’s odd that the nightly biz report would tell us today’s news yesterday 😕 and I suppose we’ll never know just which oil firms got the Energy Department’s favor on this. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2002, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-the-strategic-oil-reserve/143322/10 "2002-12-17T23:06:51Z")
Just like when in gov’t a budget increase is not as big as planned it is called a cut, the oil releases is oil not being returned right now. When Clinton released it there were 2 problems - One there was no true shortage - this caused some speculators to buy this oil really cheap, and 2 he made a big media event of it so everyone and his brother knew. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2002, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-the-strategic-oil-reserve/143322/11 "2002-12-18T00:00:18Z")
“When Clinton released it there were 2 problems…” So it’s OK this time because: •It’s being kept pretty secret. •The shortage doesn’t arise from the oil co’s manipulating the gas supply. -Okey-doke 😉 ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2002, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-the-strategic-oil-reserve/143322/12 "2002-12-18T12:05:03Z")
Hey you live by the photo opp. you die by the photo opp.