US moves to release more oil stockpiles under IEA agreement

US Department of Energy moves to transfer 53.3 million barrels amid rising oil prices.The United States has announced its latest release of emergency oil stockpiles in coordination with the International Energy Agency (IEA).The US Department of Energy said on Monday that it had begun transferring 53.3 million barrels from the strategic petroleum reserve after awarding contracts to nine companies under its emergency exchange programme.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Trump says he will suspend petrol tax amid soaring US fuel priceslist 2 of 4Haiti’s PM casts doubt on presidential vote by August as gang clashes growlist 3 of 4Roads blocked in Bolivia as protesters demand president’s resignationlist 4 of 4Syria restores credit card payments in effort to rejoin the global economyend of listTrafigura Trading LLC, a Texas-based commodities trading company, was granted the biggest haul of nearly 13 million barrels, with Marathon Petroleum Corporation and ExxonMobil set to receive 12.4 million barrels and 11.4 million barrels, respectively.Macquarie Commodities Trading US, Atlantic Trading & Marketing, BP Products North America, Energy Transfer Crude Marketing, Mercuria Energy America and Phillips 66 will receive between 1.05 million and 6.55 million barrels each, according to the Energy Department.Under the department’s exchange scheme, participating firms are required to replenish the stockpile with new barrels at a later date.“These actions continue to move oil swiftly into the market, address near-term supply needs, and ensure that the Strategic Petroleum Reserve remains strong through the return of premium barrels,” Kyle Haustveit, the head of the department’s Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office, said in a statement.The transfer comes after US President Donald Trump’s administration agreed in March to release 172 million barrels of crude as part of the IEA’s coordination of the largest unloading of global stockpiles in history.