OIL - House bill would increase Strategic Petroleum Reserve

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House bill would increase oil reserves amid concern over Middle East supplies

By Janelle Carter, Associated Press, 10/9/2001 16:43

WASHINGTON (AP) House members debated a measure urging the Bush administration to pump more oil into the Strategic Oil Reserve even as the White House showed little enthusiasm for the plan.

The House was scheduled to vote on the measure late Tuesday. Its passage was virtually certain.

The resolution, which is not legally binding, urges that the emergency stockpile be expanded to its full capacity of 1 billion barrels.

Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, said the reserve was ''an important national asset,'' particularly as the United States fights terrorism in Afghanistan and other countries. He and others expressed concern that some of the oil-rich Middle Eastern nations, like Iraq, could withhold oil supplies.

''We import 12 million barrels of oil a day,'' Barton said. ''Some of that comes from nations not friendly to the United States. There is a distinct possibility we may have to take military action against some of these nations.''

''We do not want to give any terrorists the idea they can blackmail us economically by shutting off our oil supply,'' Barton said.

Rep. John Baldacci, D-Maine, said, ''We should act now because any supply disruption could end up increasing the costs to our constituents.''

The White House has reacted with little enthusiasm for the idea. There is some concern that if the government began buying large amounts of oil prices would shoot up, putting further pressure on the economy. Last week, when a House subcommittee took up the issue, the Energy Department released a one-sentence statement: ''The secretary appreciates Congress' interests in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which is an integral part of our national energy security.''

The reserve currently contains about 545 million barrels in salt caverns on the Gulf coast along the Louisiana-Texas border. The United States uses about 19 million barrels of oil a day, about 10 million barrels of which are imported.

Congress long ago authorized the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to contain as much as 1 billion barrels, but it has never come close to holding that much oil. The facility can hold no more than 700 million barrels. Any additional expansion would require new construction.

On the Net:

The bill is H.R. 250 and can be found at http://thomas.loc.gov

-- Anonymous, October 09, 2001


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