By WMAL.com
President Biden announced Thursday that he would be ordering the release of 1 million barrels of oil per day from America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
- Setting the stage: with gas prices continuing to skyrocket the White House has faced immense political pressure to find solutions to provide American’s relief at the pump. While attempts to engage countries like Iran and Venezuela to create new streams of oil imports have stalled, Biden is now turning to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
- How the Strategic Petroleum Reserve works: the Reserve holds an approximated 568 million barrels of crude oil in underground salt caverns along Louisiana and Texas’ Gulf Coast. It serves as an emergency resource reserved for the offset of any unforeseen disruptions to oil imports. It was created in 1973-74 in response to the oil embargo.
- What the White House said: “This record release will provide a historic amount of supply to serve as bridge until the end of the year when domestic production ramps up.”
- Political pressure mounting: as Fall midterm elections draw nearer, the White House and democrats up and down the ticket are feeling pressure to provide answers and solutions to the American people who are struggling with the rising cost of gas. While the Administration has been adamant about blaming Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as the cause of soring gas prices, this move underscores their desperation to provide some form of relief beyond the rhetoric seen over the past few weeks.
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