Trump says he will tap US Strategic Petroleum Reserve to try to ‘bring prices down’

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the United States will release crude oil from the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve, marking the administration’s most aggressive move yet to ease rising oil prices following escalating conflict with Iran.

In an interview with Cincinnati television station Local 12, Trump said the decision is aimed at lowering fuel costs as global markets react to instability in the Middle East.

“We’ll do that, and then we’ll fill it up,” Trump said. “I filled it up once, and I’ll fill it up again. But right now, we’ll reduce it a little bit, and that brings the prices down.”

The president did not specify how much oil would be released from the reserve or when the move would occur.

The announcement came the same day the International Energy Agency revealed plans for what would be the largest coordinated release of emergency oil reserves in the organization’s history. The effort would involve approximately 400 million barrels of oil from its 32 member nations, including the United States, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom and France.

It was not immediately clear whether Trump’s decision to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve would be part of the international effort or a separate action. Earlier Wednesday, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the administration had not yet determined whether it would participate in the coordinated release.

The shift in policy comes after the administration initially ruled out tapping the reserve. However, escalating tensions in the Middle East — including Iranian attacks on oil tankers moving through the Strait of Hormuz — have driven crude prices to their highest levels in four years. The strategic waterway is one of the world’s most important energy corridors, carrying oil from Middle Eastern producers to global markets.

Despite the planned release, analysts say the impact on prices could be limited. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve currently holds about 415 million barrels of crude oil, leaving it less than 59 percent full.

The reserve was significantly drawn down in recent years when the administration of former President Joe Biden released large quantities of oil in response to market disruptions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Only modest volumes have been added back since then, and some of the storage caverns were damaged during those earlier withdrawals, complicating efforts to refill the stockpile.

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve, stored in underground salt caverns along the Gulf Coast in Texas and Louisiana, is designed to release up to 4.4 million barrels of oil per day within 13 days of a presidential order. However, analysts say the real-world flow rate could be significantly lower — possibly closer to 2 million barrels per day — due to physical limitations in the system.

Energy markets will now be watching closely to see how much oil the administration ultimately releases and whether the move is coordinated with other major economies as part of the International Energy Agency’s broader effort to stabilize global supplies.