By Elliott Ramos
The Trump administration ordered the release of 172 million barrels of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve this week, making it the second-largest release from the reserve in its history after former President Joe Biden’s 2022 withdrawal of 180 million barrels.
The move was meant to stem oil prices, which hovered over $100 a barrel Friday amid the war with Iran.
The release of oil, which will start next week and roll out over 120 days, would bring the nation’s oil reserves to roughly 243 million barrels, down 41% from its current 415 million barrels. That would leave the strategic stockpile at its lowest levels since 1982, according to a CBS News analysis of data from the Department of Energy.
The last major drawdown of oil reserves occurred in March of 2022, when Biden ordered the release of 180 million barrels to combat rising gas prices caused by the war in Ukraine. His administration previously released 50 million barrels in 2021.
