In 2021, as the world began to return to normal following COVID-19, demand for gasoline rose, sending prices soaring across the nation. To help with the energy crisis, President Joe Biden made the decision to start releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. A year later, the administration is replenishing the stockpile by buying oil.
To start restocking the SPR, the Biden administration bought three million barrels of crude oil on December 16. The president has given the go-ahead to sell 200 million barrels of oil during the past year.
After announcing that it will start repurchasing crude oil for the reserves at a price between $67 and $72 per barrel, the administration made the purchase a few months later. The last 12 months have seen the lowest gas prices ever. As of December 20, the national average price for a gallon of normal petrol was $3.12, according to AAA. The price per gallon was higher at same time last year.
“The announcement appears to signal an end to the administration’s effort to use sales of oil from the reserve to tamp down oil and gasoline prices.” https://t.co/ZqwTxITMy7
— Tyler Borchers (@TylerBorchers) December 17, 2022
After the Arab oil embargo produced petroleum shortages, high prices, and harm to the US economy, the government established the SPR in 1975. Hundreds of millions of gallons of oil are stored there. The president and his allies in the International Energy Agency (IEA) strategically coordinate efforts to release oil when there is an energy crisis.
Did you agree with Biden’s choice to let oil out of the SPR?
