Key facts
- Up to 315,000 barrels of heating oil will be loaned from the reserve.
- The loan is part of an effort to tame prices driven by diesel shortages.
- The reserve was last tapped in 2012 following Hurricane Sandy.
The Trump administration is offering to loan nearly a third of the US emergency heating oil reserve, approximately 315,000 barrels, to help lower prices. The Department of Energy announced the move on Wednesday, citing record-high diesel prices above $6.50 per gallon, driven by shortages linked to conflicts in Iran and Ukraine. Senators from both parties had urged the administration to tap the reserve, which is held in New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maine. Deliveries are expected by November 13. The administration is also supporting the Constitution natural gas pipeline project. Separately, the US has loaned 172 million barrels of crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which is at its lowest levels since 1982.