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The sale of the Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve is among the provisions intended to raise funds in one of six bills setting out appropriations for some federal departments this year after Congress narrowly avoided another shutdown last week.
Under a bill providing funding for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for the fiscal year, a million barrels of the government's strategic reserve of petroleum would be sold off.
While the reserve is intended to provide a short-term supply to the region in the event of a natural disaster, in an October 2023 report, the DOE noted that it had never been used, would provide "minimal relief to a shortage condition," and cost around $16 million a year to maintain.
Some have questioned shutting the reserve down. Zero Hedge, a far-right libertarian financial blog that has promoted conspiracy theories and climate denial, wrote on Sunday: "Is the government trying to cause another disaster? This supply is so small but crucial for its intended purpose that we're in 'just why?' territory."
Others argued that it would leave the region vulnerable to a supply disruption from a cyberattack on a pipeline, as happened in the southeast in 2021, and that the DOE had failed to produce an alternative for future disasters.
Among the concessions achieved by Republicans was a stipulation that none of the reserve's oil be sold to any entity deemed to be under the ownership or influence of the Chinese Communist Party.
U.S. Northeast Gasoline Reserve Could Be Sold Off | OilPrice.com
The U.S. could sell off the Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve in the fiscal year under a bill up for discussion in Congress.
oilprice.com