Bush Should Not Tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve

[tritsofme]

I heard many on this board today and yesterday demand that President Bush tap the SPR in order to alleviate the supply disruptions sure to be caused by Katrina.

I think this would be a great mistake. The impact of the small amount of oil released would not have a great affect on prices, but it would be much more expensive to us in the long run.

Many suggested that Bush "hording" the reserve would benefit his oil buddies, quite the contrary. He may release oil that we bought at $50/barrel and then he will start refilling the SPR with oil that costs $70+/barrel. This is what would really benefit big oil, and this is one reason why we should leave the SPR alone.

[BlueEyedSon]

1. One assumption is that oil is at a temporary short-term high

selling it out of the reserve to help relieve the temporary shortage (bringing prices DOWN) and buying it back when the mania subsides is good for consumers.

[BlueJac]

2. Start getting used to it

This oil thing is never going away..........we need another kind of fuel and we waited to damn long to think about it. Bush is a real help too.........all th oil companies have be putting down alternate energy sources for years. Time Has Come Today!

[Kazak]

4. Carter had us thinking in the right direction, and then...

along came Reagan.

:puke:

[Walt Starr]

3. It won't do doodly squat since the gas prices will now go up because

refineries can't refine the crude into product.

And it's refineries shutting down that's the problem now, so a bunch more cheap crude moves into the pipeline for production into product, but the product can't be refined because remaining refineries are already working over capacity because so many refineries are down in teh gulf.

End result,Bush cronies get to buy up a bunch of cheap crude that's stored for them in government storage facilities for dirt cheap while they continue to gouge on gas prices and get to complain that "refinery production can't keep up with demand" to explain away $4/gal. gas.