Exxon receives first oil from Biden’s strategic reserve release

(Bloomberg) --The first oil from President Joe Biden’s release from the country’s emergency crude reserves is being granted to Exxon Mobil Corp. 

The company will receive 4.8 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as part of an exchange, the Department of Energy said Friday on its website. Delivery will be conducted from the Bryan Mound, West Hackberry and Bayou Choctaw storage sites. 

The release is part of the Biden administration’s effort to lower energy costs and tackle surging gasoline prices, which touched a seven-year high last month. Crude futures have dropped about 15% since late October, when the U.S. indicated it was considering a variety of tools to bring down fuel prices. Oil has fallen more sharply since news of the omicron variant of the coronavirus broke in late November. 

The Energy Department also confirmed that it will issue the sale’s notice for 18 million barrels from the SPR on Dec. 17.