The President of the United States, Joe Biden, on Wednesday officially announced the sale of an additional 15 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in December, a decision with which he seeks to lower the price of the fuel due to recent production cuts. . The announcement was made by OPEC-forming nations and with midterm elections in the background.
“With this we will continue to stabilize markets and lower prices at a time when actions from other countries have created so much volatility,” Biden acknowledged.
The completion of the 180 million barrel release authorized by Biden in March, which was initially due in six months, sends the strategic reserve to its lowest level since 1984.
The executive believes it to be a “bridge” until national output can be increased. The reserve now holds about 400 million barrels of oil.
Well, in his speech at the White House, the president revealed plans to buy oil to replenish emergency reserves when prices fell to $70 a barrel.
“Reloading the reserve to $70 a barrel is a good price for companies; it’s a good price for taxpayers and it’s important to our national security,” Biden said.
According to CNN, the president also called on Congress to pass permit reform to accelerate the startup of sustainable energy projects.
The announcement of additional barrel sales – less oil a day than in the US – comes three weeks before the election, and marks another unprecedented effort by the White House to balance global oil markets.
Among the energy problems caused by Russia’s intervention in Ukraine was OPEC’s decision to lower oil production targets and keep refineries isolated, which also created new pressures on the market.
“I want to make sure I can continue to push what I’m pushing, and it’s to make sure companies pump enough oil so that we have the ability to be able to produce gas at home, which The oil we need here at home, and keep moving toward providing alternative energy at the same time,” Biden said.
The president argued that although petrol prices had fallen every day last week, they were not falling “fast enough”.
The head of the White House warned that “when the price of gasoline rises, other expenses are cut” and explained that for this reason he does “everything in his power” to reduce prices. (Russian President Vladimir) Putin invaded Ukraine and the reason these prices are going to skyrocket.”
Biden also urged producing companies in the United States to increase the volume of their extraction, as the country “needs to responsibly increase production” of the oil. The eventual growth, he stressed, should not affect the country’s transition to clean energy.
Biden reiterated his criticism of some actors in the hydrocarbon industry. “Refiners’ profits are double as usual. And distributors’ margins are 40% higher than normal,” he said.
Earlier, senior energy security adviser Amos Hochstein suggested that the government could release more barrels “if necessary”, although he clarified that any future releases would depend on global markets and Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
“The Russians have clearly said that we cannot be sure what they are going to do next and that we have some measures that will be implemented in Europe in the next few months. So, the President will watch carefully. What we are doing today He may continue and see additional releases,” Hochstein assessed.
