U.S. President Joe Biden admitted on Saturday local time that increased oil production from OPEC+ members was not enough to meet U.S. demand, and he opened the door to a range of options, including using strategic oil reserves.
When Biden was asked by reporters at the White House whether he would approve the sale of the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, he did not answer directly, but said that the government has ways to deal with high oil prices. “We have other tools in our arsenal, and when appropriate, we will engage with other countries,” he said.
Previously, OPEC+, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, composed of Saudi Arabia, Russia and other countries, rejected the United States’ request to increase production. The group agreed on Thursday to go ahead with plans to increase oil production by another 400,000 barrels per day from December, despite calls from the United States to further increase supplies and cool rising prices.
Oil prices currently exceed $80 per barrel, and consumers need to pay higher fuel bills, which further increases inflationary pressure in the United States and may threaten Biden’s economic agenda .
As of Thursday, the national average price for regular unleaded gasoline was $3.42 per gallon, the highest level since 2014, according to the Automobile Club AAA.
“I don’t expect OPEC to respond, Russia and/or Saudi Arabia to respond,” Biden said. “They will increase production, but whether they can increase production enough is another matter.”
Biden said that the US government will discuss this issue. “We can get more energy from pipelines,” he said.
U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said on Friday that Biden is “looking at the possibility” of using oil reserves to lower gasoline prices. “The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is definitely an option on the table,” she said.
Previously, some analysts pointed out that the United States may restart antitrust legislation against OPEC+, which is unlikely to have any impact on prices in the short term. Or more radical measures, such as a ban on U.S. crude oil exports, could harm the U.S. domestic oil industry and further disrupt global markets. The most effective, and perhaps most likely, measure is to release strategic petroleum reserves. Such actions, if taken jointly with other industrialized countries that are members of the International Energy Agency (IEA), could have a greater impact on oil prices. </p
