The problem with using the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserves to drive down fuel prices is it’s a temporary solution that, absent a cohesive long-term energy strategy, won’t change the cost trajectory.
President Joe Biden last Tuesday ordered the release of 50 million barrels from the 605 million-barrel oil reserve with the expressed goal of checking steadily rising gasoline and heating fuel prices. It’s the first time an emergency release of the reserve has been used to control prices absent a disruption in oil production caused by natural disasters or foreign conflicts.
Releasing the reserves is a purely political move by Biden. While supplies are tight, there have been no shortages of gasoline or fuel oil.
But high prices at the pump and spiking home heating bills have helped drop Biden’s approval rating to record lows.
The release comes after Russia and the OPEC oil-producing nations rebuffed the president’s pleas to boost their production to meet the demands of a recovering economy. China, North Korea and other nations are making simultaneous releases of their reserves.