Biden announces release of 15 million barrels of emergency reserve oil
(Worthy News) – President Joe Biden has announced he will release 15 million barrels of oil from America’s emergency Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a move analysts say is intended to show voters in next month’s midterm elections that he is concerned about high gas prices, USA Today reports.
While gas prices are now lower than they were this summer, they went up again in September and remain higher than they were last year.
Biden’s move follows OPEC’s announcement two weeks ago that it was slashing oil production by 2 million barrels a day to push up prices. The release of the 15 million barrels will complete Biden’s directive in March to release 180 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, USA Today said.
In an analytical piece about Biden’s move, the Washington Post noted there has been criticism as to the timing of it.
“Critics, including many Republicans, have argued that Biden is misusing the reserve for his own political purposes, rather than limiting its use to a true national crisis as intended,” WaPo said.
However, a Biden administration official told WaPo that there remain some 400 million barrels in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. “That is still a large amount of barrels,” the official said. “This is a bridge. This is a longer bridge. This is trying to use this tool incredibly responsibly.”
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