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The Joe Biden administration is prepared to release additional oil from the US strategic stockpile in order to prevent a potential increase in gasoline prices during the upcoming summer, as reported by the Financial Times on Monday.
According to senior Biden adviser Amos Hochstein, oil prices are still considered too high for many Americans, and he expressed a desire to see them reduced further.
Hochstein, in an interview with the FT, stated that the US would continue purchasing oil into the next year until the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) reaches a sufficient volume to fulfill its original purpose of ensuring energy security.
In response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Energy Department sold 180 million barrels from the SPR in 2022 and has been purchasing approximately 3 million barrels of oil per month this year.
This was done to alleviate the spike in gasoline prices, which had exceeded $5.00 per gallon, but it also resulted in the reserve reaching its lowest level in 40 years.
Earlier this month, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm informed Reuters that the US could accelerate the replenishment of the SPR once maintenance on the stockpile is completed by the end of the year.
