U.S. Energy Secretary: Planning to cooperate with Congress to cancel the plan to sell strategic oil reserves.

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Monday that he plans to work with Congress to cancel the previous Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) sale plan as one way to address low inventory issues. It is reported that the U.S. Congress has authorized the sale of about 100 million barrels of oil from the world's largest emergency oil reserve, with 7 million barrels to be sold in the fiscal years 2026-2027 and further sales by 2031. Former U.S. President Biden sold nearly 300 million barrels of strategic oil reserves during his term. Chris Wright said in an interview that replenishing the reserve will take 5 to 7 years and 200 billion dollars. He added that replenishing the reserves takes more time compared to selling them due to ongoing maintenance issues. Chris Wright also hopes to increase U.S. liquefied natural gas exports. It is worth mentioning that U.S. President Trump discussed the proposed $44 billion Alaska liquefied natural gas project during his speech to Congress last week. Trump mentioned that Japan, South Korea, and other countries are interested in working with the U.S. to build a "massive" gas pipeline in Alaska, with investments totaling "trillions of dollars." Chris Wright pointed out that all options to support the project are on the table, including potential loan guarantees from his department's Loan Programs Office (LPO). He said, "The government will do everything we can to get a project of this scale built." He added that diplomatic efforts and potential loan guarantees will help the project secure financing at rates lower than those offered by banks. Furthermore, Chris Wright downplayed the opposition to new natural gas pipelines in regions like the U.S. Northeast, saying he believes it will not hinder the construction of new projects. He said, "Everyone wants to lower energy prices."