The White House on Tuesday confirmed President Joe Biden would not release any additional oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve beyond November, just after the midterm elections.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed that the Department of Energy would continue releasing oil from the national reserves through November but that it would stop.
“We’re not considering new releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve beyond the 180 million that the president announced months ago,” Jean-Pierre said. “We don’t have anything more to share, we’re not going to be considering new releases at that time.”
The president has released more than 200 million barrels to be withdrawn, putting the reserves at their lowest level since 1984 — with more oil released from the reserves than under all previous presidents combined.
Jean-Pierre indicated that Biden’s attempt to offer relief to American consumers on oil and gas would be over after the 2022 midterm elections.
“We’re not considering to be doing anything more with the Strategic Petroleum Reserve,” she confirmed.
When asked if Biden was responsible for gas prices beginning to rise again, Jean-Pierre replied, “So it’s a lot more nuanced than that,” citing the ongoing war in Ukraine and the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
When asked if the president had any other tools to reduce oil prices, Jean-Pierre did not go into detail.
“We’re going to do everything that we can here in the administration to lower costs for Americans,” she said.