US President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he will release an additional 15 million barrels of oil from the US strategic reserve, in an effort to avoid another “dramatic” rise in gasoline prices and stabilize markets, in response. a recent cuts in production announced by the OPEC countries.
“I have been doing everything possible to reduce the prices of pumps since Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine,” said the president, who also announced that his Administration will favor a “responsible” increase in national crude oil production, without abandoning its efforts for a transition towards the use of clean energies.
According to Biden, for the moment, the release of millions of barrels from the country’s strategic reserve has influenced the continued decline in prices at the gasoline pump. Since the peak recorded in the summer, fuel in the US has dropped by 30%, which would represent 1.15 dollars in the entire nation, the president said.
“We are going to continue to use this reserve responsibly,” Biden said, while specifying that the national oil supply is “more than half of its capacity” with more than 400 million barrels. “This is more than enough for any emergency withdrawal,” he insisted.
The release of 180 million barrels from the US strategic oil reserve ordered by Biden in March has put the deposit at its lowest level since 1984, in what the administration called a “bridge” until domestic production could be increased. .
The president announced that he has instructed his team to release more barrels in the coming months if necessary. As part of his plans to replenish the national reserve, he announced that the US will buy oil when prices drop to $70 a barrel.
“That means that oil companies can invest to increase their production now with the confidence that they will be able to sell us their oil at that price in the future,” Biden said.
The president emphasized that his Administration has not slowed down the domestic production of crude oil, on the contrary, he indicated that the country foresees record production figures for 2023.
Finally, Biden rejected criticism of this decision, made in the middle of the campaign for the midterm elections in the US. For the president, this new measure “makes sense and has no political motives.”
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