New Poll: Will the US Release Oil From the SPR This Summer?

Updates

Later: a reader sent me this interesting MSNBC report -- Tapping Petroleum Reserve Has Gotten Trickier. Comment: the article had a lot of twists and turns. I think the headline is inaccurate. Tapping the reserve is as easy as the president picking up the phone and saying "tap the reserve." What has gotten more difficult are several things: a) people see this as a political move, right or wrong; b) deciding how much to release; and, c) whether the release will even do much good in lowering gasoline prices in time to make a difference before the election.

On Thursday, prices fell by as much as $3 a barrel after Reuters reported that Britain was set to agree to release stockpiles together with the United States later this year. U.K. officials said the timing and details of the release would be worked out prior to the summer, when prices often peak.

This is the first I've heard that the decision has been made: to release the oil from the SPR. Only the timing and details are yet to be worked out. I guess that spoils the poll at the sidebar at the right. By the way, I was following the TV crawler pretty closely on Friday and I saw the price drop on the announcement, but I do not recall the drop as much as $3.00. It recovered to less than a $2.00 drop even before the initial announcement was discounted. 

I wonder if CNBC will correct that tomorrow morning, or explain to the American public that the decision has been made to release oil from the SPR; only the timing and details need to be worked out.

Original Poll

Poll results:

Results of the most recent poll: With 10,000 man-camp beds, 12 new motels, and new housing, is there enough housing in Williams County to meet the needs of the boom?

Overwhelmingly, 60% said "more housing desperately needed."

Another 20% thought there was not enough housing, but getting close. That's where I would have put my check mark. Based on recent data, I would have been wrong.

8%: Yes, we are close to overbuilding.
9%: Yes, but just barely.

Numbers rounded.

Most recent information coming out of the Bakken suggests that much more housing is needed.

New poll:

This past week a very interesting story was reported: the Brits and Obama had agreed to release oil from oil from strategic petroleum reserves. Moments later, and literally it was moments later, the story was found to be untrue. The White House said there was no truth to the story. This raises the obvious question: do you think the White House will release oil from the SPR sometime between now and the election in November?

My hunch is that an agreement has been made between Great Britain and the US with regard to thresholds. There is a better than 50-50 chance, in my mind, that oil will be released from the SPR. Most likely: if the national average for the price of gasoline hits $5.00/gallon during July or August, the president will have no choice but to do something. And it won't make a difference.