WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump on Wednesday said his administration will soon release a plan to help U.S. oil companies, which Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said could include adding millions of barrels of oil to already-teeming national reserves.
Mnuchin did not provide details on where the government might find the storage capacity as the global coronavirus pandemic crushes demand for gas.
“We’re also exploring potentially having the ability to store another several hundred million barrels, so we’re looking at lots of different options,” Mnuchin said during a White House briefing on the coronavirus’ effects on industry.
A team made up of people from the Treasury and Energy Departments was working on the options, Mnuchin said.
The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) currently holds roughly 636 million barrels of crude, and has the ability to hold about 714 million barrels. Fuel demand has dropped by roughly 30% worldwide while supply has ballooned, so storage is dwindling.
Trump said that he sees helping the oil industry as a top priority. When asked when he would release a plan to help oil companies, Trump said: “I would say shortly.”
“It’s unbelievable. It’s prices that are so low, and in some cases we’re storing oil and getting paid for storage because we have a tremendous capacity for it,” Trump said. “So what’s happened with these strategic reserves is incredible.”
Oil prices on Wednesday surged 10% after U.S. crude stockpiles grew less than expected and fuel consumption seemed possibly poised for a uptick as some states, as well as European countries, ease coronavirus restrictions.
(Reporting by Lisa Lambert and Eric Beech; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Grant McCool)
