January 1, US, 30 Other Nations Release Oil From Reserves

The U.S. joined 30 other countries in the International Energy Agency in releasing 60 million barrels of oil from their strategic petroleum reserves after crude prices surged amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

However, despite the news, crude prices continued to rise. Brent, the global benchmark, soared past $107 a barrel to set a seven-year high.

The global release is also smaller than a similar release coordinated by the U.S. in November, which did not decrease prices.

So far, sanctions haven’t directly targeted Russian oil and gas exports. But experts say financial sanctions on Russia and concerns over the risk of future energy sanctions are already slowing down the sale of Russian oil and gas, though not stopping it completely.

The U.S. has also signaled it has not taken direct energy sanctions off the table.

“We are prepared to use every tool available to us to limit disruption to global energy supply as a result of President Putin’s actions,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.

“We will also continue our efforts to accelerate diversification of energy supplies away from Russia and to secure the world from Moscow’s weaponization of oil and gas.”

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The U.S. and 30 other nations are releasing oil from reserves to try to calm markets