Exxon Energy Gets Loan from US for Emergency Reserve

Jennifer Granholm, the United States’ Energy secretary, approved a loan of 1.5 million barrels of petroleum from the country’s emergency oil reserve to an Exxon Mobil refinery in Louisiana to help with fuel shortages caused by Hurricane Ida. President Joe Biden had already authorized Granholm to use all available resources, including the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), to keep gasoline flowing after Hurricane Sandy.

Biden said, “It’s important to know that the region hit by it (Ida) is a key center of our nation’s oil production and refining infrastructure… that’s why we’re not waiting to assess the full impact of the storm.” The loan to the Baton Rouge refinery is intended to address any logistical challenges with transferring crude oil within Hurricane Ida-affected areas, ensuring that the region has access to fuel as soon as feasible.

Following the closure of segments of the Mississippi River by multiple sunken boats, several refineries, including Baton Rouge, was shut off from crude and product supplies from the south via ship and barge. According to the Energy Department, refiners should prioritize refined products for the affected region. In addition, the SPR has four major storage facilities in Texas and two in Louisiana to transport crude to neighboring refineries for fuel production.

It was created in the 1970s in response to the Arab oil embargo, which caused a jump in gasoline prices, but it has only lately been used in the aftermath of exceptional fuel interruptions such as hurricanes. Ida ripped across several sections of the United States, wreaking havoc in Louisiana. In addition, massive flooding occurred in the Northeast of the United States on Wednesday due to heavy rains. According to federal figures from Wednesday, almost 1.5 million daily offshore petroleum output barrels are currently shut-in.