For the US Government, the SPR was an underground salt tank that had to be built in Utah as a recession and warproof facility in response to the twin bombings on the World Trade Centre on 9/11.
The US Government had relied on releasing oil from the underground storage tank in July of 2008 when oil prices got to an unbearable peak of $147 per barrel. High oil prices that saw the US importing up to $1bn daily formed part of the policy agenda of the Obama administration, with his popular speech at the University of Cairo in 2009 that laid down an implementation schedule for the fast-tracking of research and development funding for fracking.
The race to decarbonise
Fracking led to legislation to un-ban the drilling of oil offshore in places like Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico, the latter of which has made the US a major oil producer to date. More importantly, his speech set the agenda for a
There's more to this story
Get unlimited access to our exclusive journalism and features today. Our award-winning team of correspondents and editors report from over 54 African countries, from Cape Town to Cairo, from Abidjan to Abuja to Addis Ababa. Africa. Unlocked.
cancel anytime
Already a a subscriber Sign In
