US would count the oil as part of its reserves
The Trump admin is considering paying US oil producers not to produce crude, according to a Bloomberg report.
"The Energy Department has drafted a plan to compensate companies for sitting on as much as 365 million barrels worth of oil reserves and counting it as part of the US government's emergency stockpile"
Oil prices and drillers have climbed on the news.
The report cites unnamed officials and says the government already has the authority to set aside as much as 1 billion barrels without dictating where it goes. Evidently, left in the ground, is good enough.
However it would require billions in appropriations from Congress and I can imagine that would be a tough sell.
Here's WTI on the news:
