Democrats urge Obama to use Strategic Petroleum Reserves to reduce oil prices

The US House Democrats have urged President Barack Obama to tap into the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserves amid hikes in global oil prices driven by Iran’s sales cut to some European countries, Press TV reports.

"We encourage you to consider utilizing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve  now," said Democratic Representative Edward J. Markey and two other House Democrats in a letter sent to President Obama on Monday in an attempt to knock down oil prices and avoid serious economic damage.

They described the reserve as "the only tool we possess which can counter supply disruptions and combat crippling price spikes in the short term."

However, some US Republicans opposed the request, saying the country’s stockpile must be available in times of emergency.

“The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is there for times of emergency and supply disruptions,” Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, the senior Republican on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said on Thursday.

“It is imperative” the stockpile be available for “a serious supply disruption down the road,” she added.