On March 1, the U.S. Department of Energy committed to releasing 30 million barrels of crude oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to ensure an adequate supply of petroleum in response to Russia’s further invasion of Ukraine. This SPR release is part of a coordinated effort among the 31 members of the International Energy Agency (IEA). Other IEA member countries collectively agreed to release an additional 30 million barrels of petroleum from their emergency reserves, bringing the total release to 60 million barrels. The SPR was established in the 1970s to alleviate the effects of unexpected oil supply ... (full story)