And so The Plan unfolds before our eyes. Bring Venezuela under US control and halt vital oil to Cuba. Put pressure on Iran and reduce supplies to China. Price of oil is at its highest, so US sells its reserves to the desperate world:
5/12/2026 2:00:54 PM NEWS CENTER Türkiye prepares to receive first shipment from US strategic oil reserves WORLD
Türkiye is preparing to receive its first crude oil shipment from the United States Strategic Petroleum Reserve amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East and growing concerns over global energy supply routes.
The move comes as United States continues releasing large volumes of crude oil from its strategic reserves following disruptions linked to the conflict involving Iran and fears over the security of the Strait of Hormuz.
Western media reports stated that Washington has released around 172 million barrels from its reserves as part of coordinated international efforts led by the International Energy Agency to stabilize rising oil prices and ease pressure on global markets.
The broader initiative reportedly aims to inject nearly 400 million barrels of oil into world markets following supply concerns triggered by tensions in the Gulf region.
According to energy analytics firm Kpler, the Greek-flagged Aframax tanker North Star loaded approximately 680,000 barrels of high-quality crude oil in April from the Brian Mound Strategic Petroleum Reserve facility near Seaway, Texas.
The vessel is expected to arrive at Aliaga Port in mid-May.
Ship-tracking data and trading sources also indicated that the Hong Kong-flagged tanker DHT Antelope loaded nearly 1.1 million barrels of high-sulfur crude through a ship-to-ship transfer operation near Galveston, Texas, and is expected to unload its cargo in Türkiye later this month.
Kpler data reportedly showed that the tanker is carrying another shipment of American crude oil destined for the Turkish market.
Reports further indicated that additional shipments released from the US strategic reserves are already heading toward European destinations including Italy and Netherlands.
The development highlights growing volatility in global energy markets as geopolitical tensions continue to affect maritime trade routes and international oil supplies.
Biden sold off nearly half the U.S. oil reserve. Is it ready for a crisis?
Biden tapped the SPR last year when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent oil prices soaring. Now Republicans blame him for putting the nation’s energy security at risk.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserves’ diminished volumes limit President Biden’s options to respond to a future shock to the oil markets. | Brandon Bell/Getty Images
An energy crisis spawned by a Middle East war 50 years ago spurred the U.S. to create a huge crude oil stockpile to shield the country from threats by unfriendly nations.
Now the oil lying in half-filled salt caverns along the Gulf Coast is posing a political quandary for President Joe Biden.
Biden’s administration sold off more than 40 percent of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve last year to help limit rising fuel prices after Russia invaded Ukraine, leaving the stockpile at its lowest levels since the early 1980s. That’s fueling Republican accusations that Biden has left the U.S. vulnerable to a disruption of global oil supplies — at a time when Hamas’ terrorist attacks in Israel are stoking fears of a wider regional war disrupting fuel shipments from the Middle East.
“That’s Joe Biden’s fault for trying to lower the price of gas before the election,” House Natural Resources Chair Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) told POLITICO.
Earlier, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) lamented to reporters that “our Strategic Petroleum Reserve is down to nothing.”
In fact, the reserve still holds 351 million barrels — equivalent to nearly 56 days of total U.S. oil imports last year — though well below the peak of 727 million barrels it held during the Obama administration. That’s on top of 424 million barrels that private companies were storing in the U.S. as of early October.
The administration has defended its handling of the reserve, saying it still holds ample crude to protect the nation’s strategic needs and offer a cushion against price shocks. “I am not worried about the reserve levels at all,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told a House committee in September, adding: “It is the largest strategic reserve in the world.”
Retired, living in the Scottish Borders after living most of my life in cities in England. I can now indulge my interest in all aspects of living close to nature in a wild landscape. I live on what was once the Iapetus Ocean which took millions of years to travel from the Southern Hemisphere to here in the Northern Hemisphere. That set me thinking and questioning and seeking answers.
In 1998 I co-wrote Millennium Countdown (US)/ A Business Guide to the Year 2000 (UK) see https://www.abebooks.co.uk/products/isbn/9780749427917
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