Biden, "upset" due to the OPEC+ cut, it will release 10 million barrels from the US reserve

Oct. 5 () –

The president of the United States, Joe Biden, has been against OPEC +’s decision to cut its production by two million barrels of oil a day since November, for which he has decided to release 10 million from the country’s reserve.

“The President is disappointed by OPEC+’s short-sighted decision to cut its production quotas as the global economy grapples with the continued negative impact of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine,” the White House said in a statement.

In this context, Biden has ordered the Department of Energy to release 10 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve starting next month.

“The President will continue to order reserve releases if appropriate to protect American consumers and promote energy security,” the White House said. In addition, Biden has asked the Department of Energy to explore additional actions to increase domestic crude production in the short term.

In this sense, Biden has called on the country’s energy companies to continue lowering prices to close the “great historical gap” between wholesale and retail gasoline prices.

“In light of today’s action, the Biden Administration will consult with Congress on additional tools and authorities to reduce OPEC’s control over energy prices,” the White House said.

At the beginning of the year, the country’s strategic reserve had 593.38 million barrels. The week ending on September 23 registered crude oil stocks of 422.58 million barrels.

After meeting this Wednesday in Vienna (Austria), the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, led by Russia, which together form the group known as OPEC+, have agreed to pump a total of 41.856 million barrels per day in November , compared to 43,856 million in August.

Saudi Arabia and Russia will extract 10.478 million barrels of crude per day, respectively, compared to the previously agreed quota of 11.004 million barrels per day, which implies a downward adjustment of 526,000 barrels per day each.