WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will announce the release of 15 million barrels of oil from the US strategic reserve on Wednesday as part of a response to recent production cuts announced by OPEC+ nations, and he will say more oil sales are possible this winter, as his administration rushes to be seen as pulling out all the stops ahead of next month’s midterm elections, according to AP.
Biden will deliver remarks on Wednesday to announce the drawdown from the strategic reserve, senior administration officials said on Tuesday on the condition of anonymity to outline Biden’s plans.
It completes the release of 180 million barrels authorised by Biden in March that was initially supposed to occur over six months.
That has sent the strategic reserve to its lowest level since 1984 in what the administration called a “bridge” until domestic production could be increased. The reserve now contains roughly 400 million barrels of oil.
Biden will also open the door to additional releases this winter in an effort to keep prices down.
But administration officials would not detail how much the president would be willing to tap, nor how much they want domestic and production to increase by in order to end the drawdown.
Biden will also say that the US government will restock the strategic reserve when oil prices are at or lower than $67 to $72 a barrel, an offer that administration officials argue will increase domestic production by guaranteeing a baseline level of demand. Yet the president is also expected to renew his criticism of the profits reaped by oil companies — repeating a bet made this summer that public condemnation would matter more to these companies than shareholders’ focus on returns.
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