Hurricane Isaias Shut In 7 of Every 10 Gulf Barrels. The Emergency Oil Loan Was Right. Now Refill the Reserve
The Energy Department lent ExxonMobil and BP up to 4 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve on Oct. 10, to be repaid with extra barrels in 2027. In our view, it is smart crisis management, but a reserve at its lowest level since 1982 needs a real refill plan.
By Clara Hughes
ALTAS WORLD NEWS OPINION | By Clara Hughes, Chief Opinion Editor | October 11, 2026 | 6-min read When Hurricane Isaias made landfall as a Category 2 storm, the first named hurricane of the Atlantic season, it did more than knock down trees and power lines [1]. Before and after it came ashore, operators shut in roughly seven of every 10 barrels of oil normally produced in the Gulf of America [2][3]. On Saturday, the Energy Department answered with a loan, not a giveaway: an emergency exchange of up to 4 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve that the borrowers must pay back, with extra barrels, in 2027 [4]. In our view, that is exactly how an emergency oil bank should work. But the bank itself is running low, and Washington must refill it. Key Takeaways ExxonMobil and BP America may each borrow up to 2 million barrels, and must return the oil plus "additional premium barrels" in 2027 [4]. As of Saturday, an estimated 68.76% of daily Gulf oil output, about 1.4 million barrels a day, and 57.44% of natural gas output was shut in [3]. The reserve held about 283 million barrels on Oct.