The United States releases 30 million barrels of crude oil due to the crisis in Ukraine

The president of the United States, Joe Biden, authorized this Tuesday the release of 30 million barrels of crude oil from its strategic reserves to respond to the escalation of prices derived from the war in Ukraine initiated by Russia.

The members of the International Energy Agency (IEA) agreed on Tuesday to put 60 million barrels of crude oil on the market and half of that package is made up of the 30 million announced by the United States.

In a statement, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki considered the IEA announcement an “example” of the work that Western partners have done to condemn the “unprovoked” and “unwarranted” invasion that the president Russian, Vladimir Putin, has launched against Ukraine.

“We are prepared to use all the tools at our disposal to limit the disruption to the global energy supply as a result of President Putin’s actions,” Psaki warned.

The strategic reserves of the United States, located in large underground caverns in the south of the country, are the largest in the world and are currently around 600 million barrels.

That reserve was created in 1975 after the Arab oil embargo raised prices and hurt the US economy.

Its purpose is to prevent future interruptions in the supply of crude oil and serve as a “foreign policy tool”, according to the website of the Department of Energy.

The war in Ukraine could affect prices in the United States, submerged in inflation not seen for decades, but the biggest blow could be suffered by the European Union, which buys 41% of its natural gas from Russia and also depends on that country for the supply of crude oil, according to Eurostat data.

Only this Tuesday, the price of Texas Intermediate Oil (WTI), a reference in the United States, has shot up more than 11% and exceeded US $ 106, which places the barrel close to maximums not seen since 2011.