Turkey Set to Receive First Shipment from US Emergency Oil Stash
The United States is set to release its first shipment of emergency oil reserves to Turkey, a move aimed at combating spiking crude prices following the war in Iran. According to ship tracking data, a cargo of sweet crude oil loaded from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is heading to Aliaga, Turkey.
The U.S. SPR has been releasing 172 million barrels of oil as part of a coordinated effort by the International Energy Agency (IEA) to release a record 400 million barrels of oil and quell rising prices. The move comes as exports from the U.S., the world’s largest producer, have touched record highs due to tightening supplies across Europe and Asia.
US Emergency Oil Release to Turkey
The first shipment of U.S. emergency oil reserves is being carried by the Greek-flagged aframax North Star, which loaded around 680,000 barrels of sweet crude from the Bryan Mound strategic petroleum reserve site near Seaway, Texas City in April. The vessel is expected to arrive in Aliaga, Turkey, in mid-May.
Additionally, Hong Kong-flagged DHT Antelope has also been carrying U.S. crude oil, loading about 1.1 million barrels of Bryan Mound Sour crude oil at offshore Galveston through ship-to-ship transfer in late April. The vessel is due to unload its cargo in Turkey at the end of the month.
Global Oil Market Impact
The release of emergency oil reserves from the U.S. SPR has already had an impact on the global oil market, with U.S. SPR cargoes having already headed to Italy and the Netherlands, according to ship tracking data. The move is expected to help stabilize prices and provide relief to countries dependent on imported oil.
Reporting by Georgina McCartney and Arathy Somaskehar in Houston; Editing by Liz Hampton
Original Article: Turkey set to receive its first shipment from US emergency oil stash | Reuters — Reuters