The Biden administration is reportedly planning to purchase up to 6 million barrels of oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to replenish supplies after a historic sale in 2022.
The oil will be stored at the Bayou Choctaw site in Louisiana, with deliveries expected in early 2025.
This would match the largest replenishment so far, aiming to bolster the SPR, which plays a crucial role in U.S. energy security. An official announcement on the solicitation is expected soon.
In October 2022, the White House announced that Biden would release 15 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve just ahead of the midterm elections.
The national average price for gasoline was $3.85 per gallon at the time, according to data from AAA, marking a nearly 62% increase since Biden assumed office at the beginning of last year.
In response to the rising prices, Biden announced that his administration would release 180 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a stock of emergency crude oil created to manage supply disruptions in energy markets.
“Global crude oil supply flows remain a challenge, due in large part to the ongoing instability caused by Russia’s actions in Ukraine,” the White House said in a statement at the time. “The President is prepared to authorize significant additional sales in coming months if conditions require.”
Biden has presided over a decrease in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve from 638 million barrels to 409 million barrels, according to data from the Energy Information Administration. When one reporter questioned White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on why the release was necessary since gas prices were trending downward, as the administration asserts, she claimed that Americans would receive “a little bit of breathing room” as a result of the policy.
“President Biden has said for months how he is committed to doing everything that he can in his power to address Putin’s price hike,” Jean-Pierre said. “He has said this on almost every speech that you’ve heard him talk about when it comes to gas prices and what the American people are seeing and feeling at the pump. And he’s been delivering on that.”
