Administration Hints at Opening Strategic Petroleum Reserve

As the Bush administration prepares for retaliation against the terrorists who struck the United States Sept. 11, it is also suggesting it could open the spigot to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to dispel fears of a potential energy shortage.

Anticipating that there could be some disruption to Middle Eastern countries’ exports of crude oil, depending on what the U.S. does militarily, officials are pointing to the government’s emergency oil stockpile as a weapon in the U.S. arsenal.

Tapping that reserve could temporarily lessen U.S. dependency on foreign oil, some say, and potentially curb a big price spike at the pump.

For the full story, see the Sept. 24 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.