WASHINGTON — The U.S. plans to release millions of barrels of additional oil from its Strategic Oil Reserve in December, with additional releases over the winter, White House officials said Tuesday. said at night.
The release from the Strategic Stockpile this year was a dramatic step for the US to keep gasoline prices in check and stabilize energy prices around the world. The latest move comes three weeks before the midterm elections, raising concerns that inflation could worsen as winter approaches and the conflict in Ukraine drags on.
Officials said the U.S. will release an additional 15 million barrels of oil from its stockpile in December, exhausting the 180 million barrels President Biden had approved for sale earlier this year.
The sale was intended to act as a “wartime bridge” to boost domestic U.S. production, but White House officials said Tuesday that Biden will sell additional oil later this winter if needed. He said he was ready to approve it.
Reserves can hold about 700 million barrels of oil, leaving about 400 million barrels. A White House official said he intends to replenish reserves when global oil prices fall to the $67 to $72 a barrel range. Right now he’s hovering around $90.
Biden is expected to announce his plans on Wednesday. Officials also said they would urge oil refiners not to cut prices and pass on lower energy costs to consumers from the dumping of oil.
U.S. gas prices eased in the summer as the United States sold oil from its strategic oil reserves and fears of a global recession deepened. It has increased again in recent weeks after the Saudi-led OPEC Plus decided to cut oil supplies in the market by up to 2 million barrels per day to boost oil prices.
Biden said last week that Saudi Arabia’s decision “has consequences.”
The White House faces criticism from Republicans for depleting its strategic reserves ahead of the midterms, even as they make the specter of rising gas prices a central theme of the campaign. is doing.
Kansas Republican Senator Jerry Moran said last week, “Depleting emergency supplies is a short-sighted and risky choice that puts energy security at risk during critical times of global uncertainty. expose.
The Biden administration has defended the decision, arguing that all Americans are benefiting from lower gas prices and that energy prices around the world are rising because of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“President Biden has promised to do everything in his power to deal with President Putin’s rise in prices,” said White House spokeswoman Carine Jean-Pierre. “Shouldn’t the president be doing everything he can to keep prices down?”