The US Energy Department provided Marathon Petroleum Corp. with the second batch of crude oil from the strategic reserve as part of the Biden administration's efforts to lower energy and fuel costs. The ministry noted on its website that Marathon will receive 250 thousand barrels of crude oil. Formerly Exxon Mobil Corp. was granted the first batch of crude of 4.8 million barrels. In total, the U.S. government has offered 32 million barrels of high sulfur crude for exchange supply from January through March, with an option for December deliveries. Recall that West Texas Intermediate crude futures have fallen by about 14% since late October, after which the United States began to think about considering various tools to reduce fuel prices in the country. Oil fell even more after news of a new strain of the omicron coronavirus appeared at the end of November. The Joe Biden administration noted that it already sees a positive impact of the release of strategic reserves on current oil prices and fuel costs in the country.
