Washington, Nov 24 (TIWN) The US Department of Energy will authorise the release of 50 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to lower oil prices and address the mismatch between demand exiting the pandemic and supply, the White House said.

Of the 50 million barrels, 32 million barrels will be an exchange over the next several months, releasing oil that will eventually return to the SPR in the years ahead, Xinhua news agency quoted the White House as saying on Tuesday.  Meanwhile, 18 million barrels will be an acceleration into the next several months of a sale of oil that Congress had previously authorised, it added.