US hiding nearly billion barrels of oil underground

www.bbc.com...

Had no idea US does this, mostly between TX and LA. Apparently it is contemplating tapping into the oil now that the ongoing proxy attacks on Saudi oil are inflating prices.

President Trump tweeted they could use the oil "to keep the markets well-supplied". But how will dems respond?

US's imported oil stockpile is the largest in the world. Wonder what the ecological effects are. I mean usually fracking is associated with quakes once the fluid is removed from the recesses...

If you didn't know the US had an oil reserve then I'm guessing you aren't from the US because it hasn't been a secret.

Then why is BBC using the term 'HIDING'?

originally posted by: opethPA
If you didn't know the US had an oil reserve then I'm guessing you aren't from the US because it hasn't been a secret.

Yea... it's not like we've been "hiding" it.

We've been "storing it".

For an emergency.

What kind of crazy people think about that?

originally posted by: tulsi
Then why is BBC using the term 'HIDING'?

Probably because secret and hiding don't mean the same thing necessarily.

Like I said, if this is the first you have heard of the OIl Reserve then my guess is you arent from the US since it was formed in the 70's and has been tapped before.

a reply to: tulsi

Because they aren't sitting out in the open, in a vacant lot. They're in hidden storage facilities to protect them. The SPR has been around and known about for decades.

a reply to: tulsi

If you mean the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, I don't think it is being hidden. It is stored in case of a war where our oil supply is blocked off or other emergency.

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is an emergency fuel storage of petroleum maintained underground in Louisiana and Texas by the United States Department of Energy (DOE). It is the largest emergency supply in the world, with the capacity to hold up to 727 million barrels (115,600,000 m3).[1] The United States started the petroleum reserve in 1975 after oil supplies were interrupted during the 1973–1974 oil embargo, to mitigate future supply disruptions.

The current inventory is displayed on the SPR's website.[2] As of September 6, 2019, the inventory was 644.8 million barrels (102,520,000 m3). This equates to about 35 days of oil at 2013 daily U.S. consumption levels of 18.49 million barrels per day (2,940,000 m3/d)[3] or 67 days of oil at 2013 daily U.S. import levels of 9.859 million barrels per day (1,567,500 m3/d).[4] However, the maximum total withdrawal capability from the SPR is only 4.4 million barrels per day (700,000 m3/d), so it would take over 150 days to use the entire inventory.

a reply to: LookingAtMars

Or we could go to their "hidden" website...

Office of Fossil Energy: SPR FAQ

And go straight to why they are using salt domes for storage.

a reply to: Lumenari

Shhh!

Loose lips sink ships

"The BBC said....."

LOL, the bbc is trash, who cares what they have to say about anything.

Our oil reserve is anything but hidden, it's been talked about for decades.

BBC is just crafting a narrative for the usual dim minds to wade in.

a reply to: tulsi

Nothing is being hidden. The SPC has existed for decades now. And it's a good thing it has! We just witnessed this weekend the destruction of, according to some reports I have heard, 5% of the supply capacity of the world's oil. During another time, that could have set off a massive fuel panic and price increases. I stopped by today to fill up with gas, because of the impending price increases. Gas was up a whole 2 cents a gallon. My wife heard a report saying that prices could rise up to 12 cents per gallon.

Whoopdie-freakin'-do!

It wasn't that long ago that gas spiked to over $4 a gallon here without losing 5% of the world's supply. Then it dropped slowly to $3.50 a gallon and stayed there for several months, finally easing back down to $2 a gallon in 2016. It has been running about $2.30 a gallon lately here, and today was up to $2.32 a gallon.

What's the difference? We have a President who understands how to use those reserves, and who has turned the US into a net exporter of fuel instead of an importer. Fuel prices are the single greatest issue with nationwide economics, because everything gets transported, most things 4, 8, up to 20 times before finally arriving in Anytown USA. High fuel prices get added into the cost and create inflation... likely a large part of the 2008 recession.

TheRedneck

originally posted by: MisterSpock
"The BBC said....."

LOL, the bbc is trash, who cares what they have to say about anything.

Our oil reserve is anything but hidden, it's been talked about for decades.

BBC is just crafting a narrative for the usual dim minds to wade in.

I normally just think of the porn term for the abbreviation BBC.

Then when you read "The BBC says..."

It just puts whatever they say in the proper context.

originally posted by: Lumenari

originally posted by: MisterSpock
"The BBC said....."

LOL, the bbc is trash, who cares what they have to say about anything.

Our oil reserve is anything but hidden, it's been talked about for decades.

BBC is just crafting a narrative for the usual dim minds to wade in.

I normally just think of the porn term for the abbreviation BBC.

Then when you read "The BBC says..."

It just puts whatever they say in the proper context.

Well....The BBC category on porn hub does get more clicks than that other BBC site.

a reply to: TheRedneck

Well there was that time Bill Clinton dipped into the reserve to drop gas prices from $1.05 to $0.83 and the end of his second term to go out on a good note. Yet strangely enough the home office sent the maintenance crew out to change the signs so gas prices could max out at $9.99 instead of $1.99. When I asked why, he said just wait and watch.

It was already 2000 so it wasn’t Y2K fears. So that leaves war in the Middle East, because even George W. wasn’t a done deal yet as it was September or October 2000.

a reply to: TheRedneck

The loss of Saudi oil production doesn't effect the US that much, so far as supply goes--or shouldn't.

Not just the "hidden" reserve, but the fact that the US doesn't import that much oil anymore.

The US is only importing just over 15% of its oil. It's instances like this attack on Saudi oil field/production facilities that should tell us that we need to be even more self sufficient.

Given the ever so slightly volatility of the region...seems a sensible thing to do, to me anyway.

a reply to: tulsi

The oil he was referring to amounts to more than 640 million barrels which are stored in salt caverns beneath the states of Texas and Louisiana. The idea of holding these "strategic reserves" dates back to the 1970s. All members of the International Energy Agency have to hold the equivalent of 90 days' worth of petroleum imports, but the US stockpile is the largest emergency store in the world. Why was it set up? US politicians first came up with the idea of an oil stockpile in the early 1970s, after an oil embargo by Middle East nations caused prices to skyrocket around the world. Why the superpowers hide enormous oil stockpiles Members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries - including Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia - refused to export oil to the US because it supported Israel in the 1973 Arab-Israeli War.

from your own link and this has been a thing for a long time and it has been tapped before in times of oil scarcity or high prices . and "why we hide it" is open pools of oil on the surface is not as good a way as storing it in old salt mines as i THINK it cant get out and spill or cause a environmental issue due to it not dissolving the salt?

peakoil.com... they gave a tour back in 2016 so its not "hidden" but in interests of discourse and as you may find it interesting here is a paper that implies its not needed from the cato institue object.cato.org... its a pdf so i wont quote it

It's enough gas to fuel the military, government, and to be rationed at a premium to business to hike even further if they sell gas to last the nation an entire week or something like that.

bunch of countries have them and the EU requires it as well

Europe European Union In the European Union, according to Council Directive 68/414/EEC of 20 December 1968, all 28 member states are required to have a strategic petroleum reserve within the territory of the E.U. equal to at least 90 days of average domestic consumption.[38] The Czech Republic has a four-tank SPR facility in Nelahozeves run by the company CR Mero.[39] The Czech SPR is equal to 100 days of consumption or 20,300,000 barrels (3,230,000 m3).[40] Denmark has a reserve equal to 81 days of consumption (about 1.4 million tonnes).[41] Not counting reserves held by the military defence. Finland has an SPR with an approximate size of 62,400,000 barrels (9,920,000 m3).[42] France has an SPR with an approximate size of 65,000,000 barrels (10,300,000 m3).[43] As of 2000, jet fuel stocks for at least 55 days of consumption were required, with half of those stocks controlled by the Société Anonyme de Gestion des Stocks de Sécurité (SAGESS) and the other half controlled by producers.[44] Germany created the Federal Oil Reserve in 1970, located in the Etzel salt caverns near Wilhelmshaven in northern Germany, with an initial size of 70 million barrels (11,000,000 m3).[45] The current German Federal Oil Reserve and the Erdölbevorratungsverband (EBV) (the German stockholding company) mandates that refiners must keep 90 days of stock on hand, giving Germany an approximate reserve size of 250,000,000 barrels (40,000,000 m3) as of 1997.[46] The German SPR is the largest in Europe. Hungary has an SPR equal to approximately 90 days of consumption or 11,880,000 barrels (1,889,000 m3).[47] Ireland has approximately 31 days of oil stocks in Ireland and another nine days of oil stocks held in other EU members states. Additionally, it has stock tickets (contracts with a third party whereby the government has the option of purchasing oil in the event of an emergency) and stocks held by large industry or large consumers. In total, Ireland has approximately 100 days' worth of oil at its disposal.[48][49] The Netherlands maintains a stockpile equal to 90 days of net oil imports. In 2013, this was about four million tonnes of oil.[50] Poland has an SPR equal to approximately 70 days of consumption.[51] Another facility holding 20 days of consumption was completed in 2008. Poland also requires oil companies to maintain reserves sufficient to provide 73 days of consumption.[52] Portugal has an SPR with an approximate size of 22,440,000 barrels (3,568,000 m3).[53] Slovakia has an SPR with an approximate size of 748,000 barrels (118,900 m3).[40] Spain has an SPR with an approximate size of 120,000,000 barrels (19,000,000 m3).[54] Sweden has an SPR with an approximate size of 13,290,000 barrels (2,113,000 m3).[55] The United Kingdom recently drew up plans to create its own strategic fuel reserves utilizing Steven Brown as an agreement agent.

en.wikipedia.org... china india russia etc all have them as well as western nations and and others

When we think of the term "oil reserves," we're actually talking about the United States Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is a government-owned stash of oil that's stored in four salt caverns in the Gulf Coast region. The reserve has a capacity of 727 million barrels (though there are plans to increase storage by expanding the existing caverns and building additional storage sites).

The Strategic Oil Reserve was established in 1973 out of concerns that political conflict with Arab countries and trade embargoes would compromise the United States' security position. Such circumstances include war or other unforeseen crises. A good example of such a release was during Hurricane Katrina, when the damage to the Gulf of Mexico region caused widespread and critical disruption of oil production and circulation. Recently, the largest release in the history of the reserve was announced as an economic measure.

In June 2011, President Obama announced that 30 million barrels would be released from the Strategic Oil Reserves, leaving about 697 million barrels in the reserve. This move was announced in hopes of neutralizing the spike in fuel prices that normally coincides with the increased travel of the summer season. Other countries that participate in the International Energy Agency agreed to match the amount, so that a total of 60 million barrels entered circulation. For all the discussion surrounding this decision, the oil released amounted to only about two-thirds of average daily 87-million-barrel global consumption. Critics of the decision said that it was a misuse of the reserves, which are intended as a national security measure to support the country in times of a true energy emergency.

A decision to release oil from the reserves generally includes a strategy or timetable for replenishing the depleted resources. For example, 20.8 million barrels were released in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast and caused a critical disruption in supply. By 2008, however, that quantity had already been replaced and a new record high reserve of 707.21 million barrels was achieved. Then Hurricanes Gustav and Ike hit, prompting the release of another 5.4 million barrels. After that oil was replaced, the reserve was further supplemented, and reached its peak capacity for the first time in December of 2009.

So at its most literal interpretation, the question is: How long will 727 million barrels last?

Though the Strategic Petroleum Reserve has proven to be a reliable safeguard against a short-term crisis, it's hard to imagine a situation so catastrophic that the United States would simply run out of oil. At our current consumption rate of about 20 million barrels a day, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve would last only 36 days if we were faced with a situation where the oil had to be released all at once (however, only 4.4 million barrels a day can be withdrawn, extending our supply to 165 days). Or, in the event of a geopolitical conflict or crisis, the question can be answered this way: The Reserve says that at full capacity, the stash provides about 75 days of import protection.

science.howstuffworks.com...