Oil, gas, sweet and sour crude oil....The USA needs it now!

While in Odessa, Texas, evaluating hotel investments I learned something about the U.S. Strategic Petroleum reserve.   That has been our "ace in the hole" to assure that in times of stress, conflict or war, the USA still has enough petroleum to run the nation.

But recently, when the price of gasoline at the pump was rising dangerously high, our government tapped the U.S. Strategic Petroleum reserve, thus when everyone was predicting $4.00 or higher "pump prices" Americans enjoyed a range of $3.20 to $3.60 per gallon.  It saved American consumers millions.  Our gas at the pump is still in a comfortable $3.30 to $3.80 per gallon.  Some consumers in other nations are paying much higher for fuel for their cars!

Odessa oilman Kirk Edwards had some insights from his perspective in the industry. He is looking at the conflicts of nations, and that it takes oil and gas to fight wars.   He suggests that it is time to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which was tapped to keep gas prices low, during last year's elections.

I believe he has a good point.  We have been gradually "paying the petroleum reserve back" but it is at a slow rate.  With various radicals and hostile armies in the Middle East, plus our support of Ukraine as it fights Russia, our petroleum reserves are in need to faster replenishment. 

""The SPR has to have sour crude oil along with sweet crude oil to make the perfect cocktail for our U.S. refineries to use in a crisis" he said.  Congress and the Senate need to get on their podiums and say we need to get oil back into the SPR immediately". (he said in an article of the Odessa American, Oct 14th, 2023, edition).  

We need sour crude to mix and get a correct balance in our US reserves.   We have been shipping it to other nations such as Saudi Arabia, and then we are forced to buy it back from them "to get a proper balance and recipe for our own refineries going" he said. 

"WE CAN DO THIS, AT SOME 2 MILLION BARRELS OF OIL PER DAY IT WILL STILL TAKE SIX MONTHS TO GET US BACK TO WHERE WE WERE JUST TWO YEARS AGO". Edwards said. "Our own defenses need American oil and natural gas."