The U.S. Department of Energy has approved the release of two million barrels of crude oil to ExxonMobil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) on Dec. 30, as part of the initiative undertaken in November by the federal government to lower gasoline prices in the country. This is the third exchange of crude oil with ExxonMobil. Currently, the DOE has supplied over seven million barrels from the SPR in an effort to boost supply. An exchange refers to a situation where oil entities like refineries borrow critical supplies from SPR, which the companies have to replace in full later on, along with an additional amount that is dependent on how long they kept the oil. “Exchanges usually occur during severe weather events, such as hurricanes or in response to temporary disruptions, such as pipeline blockages and ship channel closures when a facility’s normal scheduled deliveries are interrupted,” according to the …