Oil Reserve Boost: 40 Million Barrels Added After Iran Conflict

Companies that borrowed oil from the U. S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve will put an extra 40 million barrels into storage once the Iran war ends, Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Fox Business. The move comes as oil prices have climbed since the U. S. -Israel strike on Iran in February. Wright said he is not worried about low reserve levels because the government is not selling oil; it is moving barrels into the market when needed and then trading them back.Each barrel released today will return 1. 25 barrels next year, thanks to agreements already in place. The Department of Energy currently loans about 133 million barrels from the reserve, located in underground caverns in Texas and Louisiana, to firms that repay with crude plus a premium of up to 24 percent. The plan is designed to stabilize markets without costing taxpayers.