The US Department of Energy has continued to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve with light, sweet crude oil as futures prices are rocketing over $100/barrel, while rebutting criticism by saying that the purpose of the reserve is not to protect refiners against high prices, but to be the last resort in case of a serious supply emergency.
But then Friday the DOE said that the SPR could be made available to ExxonMobil if the company faces a severe supply shortfall due to Venezuela's decision to stop selling it oil...
Does anyone see a double standard?
What, exactly, constitues a "severe supply shortfall"? Is it if another potential supplier charges ExxonMobil a higher price for a comparable crude? If there are delays to refinery supply while ExxonMobil secures alternate supplies?
Since the DOE admits that is very little chance of a severe supply shortfall, all the DOE really did was lend credence to Hugo Chavez's claims that the US government was behind ExxonMobil's actions in seeking to freeze PDVSA's accounts. And is that the image the US government really wants to project?
Since oil is a global commodity the USA needs to seek another supplier and let Chavez find another buyer. Chavez's threats should not be raising the world oil price since he is not threatening to withdraw oil from the world market. The man is no fool--his country needs the money.