The US releases the final batch of strategic oil reserves, up to 40 million barrels, urging Europe to follow suit.

Soaring fuel prices are putting pressure on the Trump administration. With less than two months until the midterm elections, Washington is once again turning to its strategic reserves.

The US Department of Energy announced that up to 40 million barrels of crude oil will once again be released from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). This is the final batch of the 172 million barrels released by the US, coordinated with the International Energy Agency, since the outbreak of the Iran war.

At the same time, Energy Secretary Chris Wright publicly criticized certain European countries, stating that their release commitments have fallen far short of expectations, and urged all member states to fulfill their promises.

The immediate background to this release is the rapid rise in energy prices—gasoline remains above $4 per gallon, while diesel has hit a historic high of over $6 per gallon.

The midterm elections in November will determine control of the House of Representatives, and persistently high fuel costs are creating increasing political pressure on the Trump administration.

On Tuesday, WTI crude oil futures fell by 3.95%.

Chris Wright used unusually tough language in his statement, explicitly calling out European allies for lagging behind the US and Japan in this coordinated release. He said:

"Several European member states have only released a fraction of their pledged crude oil and petroleum products. We urge every member country to meet their commitment."

The coordinated release is led by the International Energy Agency, with the US, Japan, and other member countries participating. The US’s public pressure reveals internal tensions within the coordinated mechanism among allies, amid a tight supply situation.

After this release, the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve is expected to fall to its lowest level since 1982, approaching multiple legal and operational constraints.

According to current federal law, if reserves fall below 252.4 million barrels, non-emergency releases are expressly prohibited; a 1981 report from the US Government Accountability Office also advised that, barring "extremely severe emergencies," reserves should not fall below 250 million barrels.

Washington consultancy ClearView Energy Partners estimates the operational minimum for the reserve at about 70 million barrels—below this level, the relevant infrastructure would have difficulty functioning normally.

Chris Wright has previously indicated that the likelihood of further reserve releases after this round is low, meaning the government’s policy tool is nearly exhausted.

Structurally, this release uses a "swap" method, essentially an interest-bearing loan—companies borrowing crude must repay it with interest at a later date.

The Department of Energy stated that in the next year or so, about 200 million barrels of crude oil are expected to be returned to the reserve, roughly 20% more than the current release.

According to the Department of Energy statement, the bidding deadline for this round of SPR releases is 11:00 AM Central Time on October 6.