SPR Storage Sites
Emergency crude oil is stored at the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in underground salt caverns at four major oil storage facilities in the Gulf Coast region of the United States, two sites in Texas (Bryan Mound and Big Hill), and two sites in Louisiana (West Hackberry and Bayou Choctaw). Created deep within the massive salt deposits.https://images.app.goo.gl/1pHJDH66potT9toJ9
By Articles and Answers 2020 Staff Writers, Patricia L Johnson and/or Richard E Walrath
One of the most difficult tasks U.S. voters will face this election cycle is trying to determine whether the news we are reading is accurate.
Back in 2018, we published an article “How in The Hell Did We Get to Where We Are Today?” where we attempted to explain how we came to have so much false information at our fingertips. Since 2018, the situation has only gotten worse, for every true article there are ten false articles. How do you tell the difference?
Let’s begin by looking at a relatively recent claim against the current administration by the opposition party.
“At a time of skyrocketing inflation and record gas prices, and with SPR drained to its lowest level since 1986, it is reckless and inexplicable that President Biden would allow oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to be exported to China. This practice poses a direct threat to American national security, not least of all because the Chinese Communist Party is currently stockpiling oil for strategic use, and the Biden administration is aiding their effort,” said Cruz.
https://www.lankford.senate.gov/news/press-releases/lankford-moves-to-stop-biden-from-sending-oil-reserves-to-china
What is truly sad about this claim is the fact that eight prominent names in the Republican Party do not seem to be aware of the rules covering our Strategic Petroleum Reserves.
WASHINGTON, DC – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) joined Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and their colleagues to introduce the No Emergency Crude Oil for Foreign Adversaries Act to ensure that reserves sold from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) are not exported to adversarial nations like China. Joining Lankford and Cruz in the bill’s introduction were Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Joni Ernst (R-IA), John Kennedy (R-LA), Roger Marshall (R-KS), and Jim Inhofe (R-OK
https://www.lankford.senate.gov/news/press-releases/lankford-moves-to-stop-biden-from-sending-oil-reserves-to-china
The first step in being able to read the news and determine fact from fiction is common sense. Does it make any sense for the President of the United States to send oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserves to a foreign country when gasoline prices are so high in this country?
Since the answer to that question is a resounding “no”, what really happened?
First, just like there are rules regarding paying taxes, there are rules surrounding the Strategic Petroleum Reserves, which can be reviewed in the following report ” The Strategic Petroleum Reserve: Background, Authorities, and Considerations”
This 21-page report was written by the Congressional Research Service in 2020 and has been available to all members of Congress, including the above listed Republican Senators, since it was written.
On April 1, 2022, the Department of Energy (DOE) issued a Notice of Sale of 30 million barrels of SPR crude oil, with 16 companies responding. 126 bids were submitted for evaluation and the contracts were awarded to 12 companies with the highest bids. Included in the 12 companies was Unipec America, who received a contract for 0.95 million barrels of the 30 million barrels offered. Unipec America is a Houston based company, but it’s owned by China Petroleum and Chemical. The Notice of Sale was published on the DOE website April 22, 2022.
“Congressionally mandated drawdowns are required by law and require the SPR to sell crude oil in a competitive auction to the highest bidder.”
https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2022-07/Strategic%20Petroleum%20Reserve%20Fact%20Sheet%20July%202022.pdf
Please remember that a requirement for a company and/or customer to be on the Strategic Petroleum Reserves is they must be registered with the United States.
Not sure how it appears to you, but it looks to us like the Republicans closed the barn door after the horses already left the barn.
Step one in learning whether a particular claim is true is research. You can’t just read something, comment about how awful it is on Twitter and then pass it on as gospel. There’s a huge difference between gospel and gossip.
There are numerous fact-checking sites available, so if you read a story that seems questionable, question the facts, question the source, and most of all use your own common sense.
Treat fact-checking sites the same as an article, don’t readily accept what one says, research the facts until you’re sure of them.
The Washington Post Fact Checker
© 2022 Articles and Answers 2011
Patricia L Johnson is a former special assignment writer/photographer residing in Northeastern IL. Richard E. Walrath is a former Budget Analyst for Ohio State University, residing in Central Ohio.
ARTICLES and ANSWERS 2020 