GAIN Statement on Concerning Data on the U.S. Petroleum Reserves
Data released today from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) indicates the amount of crude oil in the United States Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) continues its drop to dangerously low levels. According to EIA, the reserves have reached 408.7 million barrels through October 7, down 230 million barrels since President Biden’s Inauguration. U.S. emergency reserves have not been this low since the Summer of 1984.
In March, President Biden announced a six-month plan to release an average of 1 million barrels of oil per day from the SPR to combat high gas prices, leading The Wall Street Journal to call it Biden’s “Strategic Political Petroleum Reserve”.
Congress established the SPR as a means to protect the economy from severe supply disruptions caused by natural disasters, trade embargoes, and acts of God.
Below is a statement that can be attributed to me, Craig Stevens, spokesman for the GAIN Coalition:
“Tapping the SPR is a political band-aid attempting to cover the gash of Biden’s failed energy policy. For nearly two years, this administration has consistently blocked the construction of critical energy infrastructure and made it more difficult to produce American oil and natural gas. President Biden must change course and promote the national security, energy security, and economic security interests of American citizens by allowing more U.S. development of energy.”
