Hill Sponsors Bill To Suspend Deposits At Strategic Petro Reserve

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(WASHINGTON, DC) - In what seems like an almost bi-yearly effort, some congressmen are setting up bills to get the federal government to suspend oil deposits into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

This time, the effort, co-sponsored by 9th District Indiana Democratic Congressman Baron Hill, will suspend oil deposits through the rest of 2008 as long as prices remain above $75 per barrel. Currently, a barrel of crude oil is trading at about $125.

This would be a welcome move when people see gas prices. Here in Bedford they're averaging around $3.85, and in Monroe County, many stations are just a nickel shy of $4.00 per gallon.

However, critics of this usual move say it won't affect gas prices at the pump whatsoever.

Many critics say that, during the peak driving months between Memorial and Labor Days, oil refineries are already running at 100% capacity as it is, and that's part of the reason gas prices fluctuate, the demand increases in the summer and the supply plateaus when refineries are at full capacity.

That's why critics say sending additional crude oil to refineries won't help anything if they can't do anything with it.

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