Biden Uncorks Oil Reserves To Stabilize Fuel Prices
White House notes price drops over more than 90 days now
President Biden signed off on a fresh 15 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to be delivered in December, as part of his administration's overall plans to ease the pain at the fuel pump.
This sale announced Tuesday will complete the 180-million-barrel drawdown the president announced in the spring, which has helped to stabilize crude oil markets and reduce prices at the pump.
Biden is also calling on the Department of Energy (DOE) to be ready to move forward with additional significant SPR sales this winter if needed due to Russian or other actions disrupting global markets, according to a White House statement.
“I would say this to folks, should the president not do everything that he can to lower prices? Should he not continue to keep his private promise to give American people a little bit of breathing room? You know, that’s the promise that he’s made,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at the regular Tuesday briefing. “Should he not do that? And so, that’s what you’re seeing right now. This is something that he has done throughout the summer.
“This is something that he has done to address Putin’s price hike. And this is something that he is done to meet the global challenges that are in front of us,” Jean-Pierre said of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who recently has been working with the OPEC+ petroleum cartel to manipulate energy markets as he pursues his illegal and brutal invasion of Ukraine.
The president also announced that the administration intends to repurchase crude oil for the SPR when prices are at or below about $67 to $72 per barrel, adding to global demand when prices are around that range.
As part of its commitment to ensure replenishment of the SPR, the DOE is finalizing a rule that will allow it to enter fixed price contracts through a competitive bid process for product delivered at a future date.
“This repurchase approach will protect taxpayers and help create certainty around future demand for crude oil. That will encourage firms to invest in production right now, helping to improve U.S. energy security and bring down energy prices that have been driven up by Putin’s war in Ukraine,” the White House statement said.
Jean-Pierre also noted the improvement in fuel prices which has already taken place in recent weeks.
"Gas prices have fallen by $1.15 from their peak, which was not too long ago, the 98th consecutive day declined this summer was the fastest in over a decade,” she said. “Every month the typical two driver family saves about $120 at the pump compared to where we were in mid June. Everyday Americans -- Americans save about $420 million at the pump compared to mid June. Now, gas prices are falling again.
“Just to give you a little bit more stats there. The average retail price is down by 5 cents over the last week. States that saw sharper increases in recent weeks are also seeing more rapid declines,” Jean-Pierre added. “Just to give you a few states. California has down almost 30 cents this week, Wisconsin is down over 20 cents this week. Oregon is down over 20 cents this week. Michigan is down about 17 -- 16 cents this week. Ohio and Indiana are down 13 cents this week.”
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