The U.S. Energy Department said on Thursday it would release a second batch of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve totaling 1 million barrels as Tropical Storm Harvey's disruption of the petroleum industry has spiked motor fuel prices.
The oil will be delivered to the Phillips 66 refinery in Lake Charles, Louisiana, a department statement said. That refinery has not been affected by the storm, which has hammered the Gulf Coast for several days.
In the first tapping of the reserve for an emergency since 2012, 400,000 barrels of sweet crude and 600,000 barrels of sour crude oil will be sent via pipeline to the refinery.
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