Chevron: No Need to Tap Strategic Oil Reserves
David Hope
Mar 17, 2011, 12:39
Chevron took time this week to say that Washington doesn't need to tap into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve because there is plenty of crude oil on the market.
White House officials said recently that that U.S. President Barack Obama was considering tapping into the more than 700 million barrels of oil held in strategic oil reserves to prevent further economic turmoil.
Japan's energy deficit from problems tied to its nuclear reactors and the shutdown of production from Libya is putting a strain on the energy market. But Chevron Chief Executive Officer Jim Watson said there wasn't a "physical shortage" of oil.
"Inventories are high, there are adequate supplies in the marketplace," he was quoted by the Platts news service as saying.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner in written testimony before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee in early March said major world economies had "substantial" reserves at their disposal to cope with an oil shock.
Tapping into the millions of barrels of oil kept in underground salt caverns is rare for the U.S. government. It was last tapped in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike in 2008.
Source: UPI
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