"We will continue to take every action we can to increase supply in the immediate term so families can pay for gas while at the same time working with the international community to achieve energy independence that reduces demand for oil and bolsters our clean energy economy," the statement said.
The 180 million barrels coming out of the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) and the 60 million barrels due from the reserves of other member states in the International Energy Agency would be the largest ever, the statement added.
Prior to this, the Biden administration had ordered the release of 30 million barrels from the SPR in March and another 50 million in November in coordination with other oil consuming countries that included China, Japan, India, South Korea and Britain.
President Joe Biden began tapping the SPR in November to provide US refiners with oil loaned from the reserve that they would not have to pay for but return within a stipulated period. By doing this, the president hoped there will be fewer transactions of oil in the open market and prices for both crude and fuel products like gasoline and diesel will come down.
In recent weeks, the administration has released some 3 million barrels weekly from the SPR. But the government’s efforts have had negligible effect so far on energy prices, with a barrel of crude remaining at around $100 a barrel while a gallon of gasoline fetches nearly about $4.20 a gallon. This is because refiners have been turning out more fuel products than they usually do at this time of year, resulting in extraordinarily high usage.
The White House statement on Thursday noted that gasoline bills for Americans had also spiraled as a result of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, resulting from President Vladimir Putin’s resolve to “demilitarize” his southern neighbor. The United States has banned Russian energy imports and joined its Western allies in sanctioning Russia in most aspects, as a result of the conflict.
“Since Putin accelerated his military build-up around Ukraine this past winter, gas prices have increased by nearly a dollar per gallon because less oil is getting to market, and the reduction in supply is raising prices at the pump for Americans,” the White House statement added.
Analysts across the energy sector warn of a worsening supply crunch in the coming months as the United States upholds its ban of Russian oil, while many other nations avoid business with Russia as well, due to sanctions.