Texas Congressmen Want More Oil in Strategic Oil Reserve
HOUSTON, Oct 2 (AP) - The nation's emergency oil supply should be filled to capacity and eventually expanded to keep the United States running in times of crisis, three Texas congressmen said Monday.
Rep. Joe Barton, who chairs the House Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality, said he hopes to submit a resolution later this week calling on the government to add about 155 million barrels to the reserve, topping it off at its 700 million-barrel capacity.
"Our national security depends in large part on our national energy supply," Barton said. "The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is the most significant asset we have against severe supply disruption, which is a real possibility as we move toward conflict in the Middle East."
Barton also said Congress should investigate construction of new reserves to bring the total to 1 billion barrels, the maximum authorized by law. Such an initiative could cost $3 billion to $6 billion, Barton said.
Barton, Rep. Kevin Brady and Rep. Nick Lampson toured the Big Hill Storage Site near Beaumont on Monday.
The oil reserve, stored in giant salt dome formations at two sites in southeast Texas and two in southwest Louisiana, was established in the mid-1970s following an oil shock earlier in the decade.
The representatives said they are satisfied with security of the underground reserve sites, which are considered potential targets for terrorists looking to cripple the U.S. economy.
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