US Northeast Gasoline Reserve To Be Sold Off
The United States is looking to sell its 1 million barrel Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve in the fiscal year 2024, as indicated by a draft text of a forthcoming funding bill unveiled on Sunday.
This reserve was initially set up in 2014 in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, which caused widespread fuel shortages across the northeastern US, with storage facilities located in New York Harbor, New York; Boston, Massachusetts; and Portland, Maine.
The motivation behind this proposed sale is to funnel the proceeds into the Treasury’s general fund.
Related: US Secures 3 Million Barrels of Oil to Refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve
The draft legislation also lays down a clear mandate that prohibits the establishment of any new regional petroleum product reserves by the Secretary of Energy without prior explicit funding approval through the president’s annual budget submission and subsequent Congressional authorization β a move that underscores a stringent future approach towards the creation and management of energy reserves.
“Upon the complete of such sale, the Secretary [of Energy] shall carry out the closure of the Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve,” according to the bill, adding that the Secretary “may not establish any new regional petroleum product reserve unless funding of the proposed regional petroleum product reserve is explicitly requested in advance in an annual budget.”
Moreover, the bill includes a provision aimed at restricting Chinese entities from purchasing crude oil from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve, highlighting a geopolitical dimension to the United States’ energy policy.
The legislative package is set for a vote in the US House of Representatives followed by the Senate, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer indicating a deadline for passage before the end of the week.
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