Yep, you saw it in the last 24 hours.
The headlines have been popping
up 5,000,000 barrels of oil from
the US reserve going to other
countries as Americans continue to
pay near record highs at the pump.
Some folks are wondering why
the gas is going overseas.
These stories all over the
place for the next 10 minutes.
We're going to dig into fuel prices
and plans to help fight the higher
cost. So let's start with why
our gas is going overseas.
Today I'm authorizing the
release of 1,000,000 barrels per
day for the next six months,
over 180 million barrels for
the strategic from the from the
Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
The Congressional Research Service
released this chart showing the
delivery schedule of Strategic
Petroleum reserve oil releases.
70 million barrels are expected
to be released from the middle
of May through the end of July.
Now, when that oil is released,
it goes to the global market.
It's not just exclusively for US
consumption, anyone can buy it.
And we'll use the revenue
from selling the oil now to
restock the Strategic Petroleum
Reserve when prices are lower.
So. We'll be ready.
We'll be ready for future emergencies.
Whether the oil is bought to
be sold in the US or overseas.
Economics professor Todd McFall
says any increase in the global
supply helps lower the cost.
Anytime that you can, you can.
Increase supply of anything.
The you you've pushed down,
the the scarcity, and you've
you've lowered price but not much
like we're talking about 10 or
$0.15 a barrel by my calculations.
Well, the US Energy Information
Administration says the country
produces more than 16 million
barrels of petroleum per day.
Texas produces almost 24% of that
natural gas, making it the largest
natural gas producing state.
Now, despite higher prices at the
pumps and a strain on petroleum supply,
Texas continues to ship the oil
and gas it produces overseas.
So why just can't the US keep
what it makes right here?
Anastasia Bolton finds out.
I think it's Greek.
You have to look by the flag.
It looks like grease flag Steve
Wilder and Patrick night have
the La Quinta Channel in Corpus
Christi as their backyard.
I mean I grew up on the water
here 55 years at this spot
they know who's coming and going tomorrow.
Kind of too large to miss.
The man's backyard also happens to
be near the port of Corpus Christi,
a hub for oil and natural gas exporters.
So I have a fundamental problem
with exporting oil. I really do
Nice sees the ships come load up and leave.
This brings up some questions for
him. We're exporting oil
from our own country.
And we're importing oil about
the same amount from countries
that we can't control.
Why are we doing that?
Why can't we use it? Part
of that oil? It's coming out of Houston is
actually going to ports on the East Coast.
Professor Edward Anderson at UT
Austin follows the supply chains
closely studying how goods and
materials are produced and travel.
We export 15 million barrels per day and
we import 50 million barrels per day.
How does that make any sense?
Well, the answer is in the cost of
getting oil to its destination.
It is more expensive for us,
for example, to ship oil to Alaska,
and it is to bring oil in from overseas.
Were to import oil to California,
then to transport it from Houston.
He says very complicated
all the different routes. If
we block exports of say oil,
other countries might stop
shipping things to us,
and there's some things that
are produced outside the United
States that we don't make here.
What does this mean for us?
At the pump the prices will drop.
Professor Anderson says when and by
how much depends on many things.
Speaking of many things,
there are so many factors that
also go into how much that gas
ends up costing you at the pump.
As gas prices pumped higher and higher,
there were a lot of issues driving up
the cost, GasBuddy says it started
with lower than usual prices during
the peak of COVID shutdowns as vaccines
were announced and people started
feeling safe to go out and about again,
prices started going up.
Then came energy supply issues
in Europe and China,
but prices really spiked after Russia
invaded Ukraine and demand kept rising.
But refineries had not caught up with
production because they were still
short staffed from COVID issues.
Wake Forest economist Tom McFall says it
boils down to simple supply and demand.
Prices are just going to be a
function of scarcity and if
anything happens that makes.
Anything gasoline tickets to a Hornets game?
Pancakes more scarce than
the price is going to go up.
But right now it's going down at
the peak of rising gas prices.
North Carolinians were paying
467 a gallon on average.
That was on June 13th.
Well today, AAA says across our state,
drivers are paying 441 a gallon
about 1/4 less per gallon.
Guilford County drivers are paying
438 on average folks in Stokes County
are paying the most in our area 450,
and at 4:31 a gallon.
Davidson County drivers
are paying the least
in California AAA.
As drivers are paying an
average of 621 a gallon,
but helps on the way there
the state passed a $17 billion
stimulus relief package aimed
at easing financial pressure
for basic necessities like
rent and gas and groceries.
Yeah, I could actually really use that right
now. Pay the bills. We take care of
business, you know food and such.
It's definitely gonna help.
But we need long term not just short term up.
I think it's just like a short term solution.
You talking about the Bay Area.
$1000 is like $50.
Really is meaningless.
It only happens once.
You know, teach somebody how to
fish or give them a fish every day.
Well, this is like giving a fish,
not teaching them how to fish.
California stimulus checks are
expected to go out in October.
Well here in North Carolina,
Democratic lawmakers are pushing for
their own gas price stimulus checks.
The Senate filed the bill in May.
If approved, the gas Tax Rebate Act
of 2022 would provide a $200 rebate.
The bill says any licensed driver
that was over the age of 18 as
of March 31st would be eligible.
Right now.
The bill is sitting with the Committee
on Rules and operations of this Senate.
By the way, North Carolina not
interested in getting rid of their gas.
At the state level WW2 at 6 is next.