Biden Drains the Strategic Petroleum Reserve

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Last fall, after months of rising gasoline prices, President Biden directed the first of several releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Despite his action, prices remain about 70% higher than they were when he took office.
• The SPR was intended to maintain a reliable source of energy in the event of a catastrophe, not to give a floundering president political cover.
• Instead of draining America’s emergency reserves, Democrats should abandon their anti-American energy plans and support domestic production. 

Last fall, with gasoline prices soaring, the president was feeling the political heat. He finally woke up to the problem, but ignored the cause: his radical energy agenda. Instead of reversing course, he directed the Department of Energy to release 50 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve – about two and a half days’ worth of U.S. consumption. As prices continued to climb, the president dipped into the reserves several more times.

Draining America’s Oil Reserves

By July 29, the SPR had reached its lowest level since 1985. Compared to January 2021, 26% of SPR’s oil reserves have been depleted. Not only has the president’s panicky drawdown not given families meaningful relief at the pump, it is leaving the U.S. vulnerable as peak hurricane season approaches and Russia continues its war in Ukraine.

A Reserve for Crises

In 1975, Congress created the Strategic Petroleum Reserve with the intention of insulating the U.S. from volatility in oil markets and to ensure a guaranteed inventory of energy supplies. It had its roots in the oil embargo enacted by Arab members of OPEC, which quadrupled the price of oil and led to widespread gasoline shortages. The SPR is authorized to hold up to 714 million barrels in underground salt caverns at four sites: Bayou Choctaw and West Hackberry in Louisiana; and Big Hill and Bryan Mound in Texas.

U.S. presidents have ordered emergency drawdowns three previous times: during Operation Desert Storm; after Hurricane Katrina; and in response to oil disruptions in Libya in 2011. Congress also has authorized sales from the SPR, particularly as the U.S. solidified its status as a global energy powerhouse during the last administration.

Biden’s Political Ploy

While families have recently gotten a breather from the $5 gas we saw earlier this summer, they’re still paying much more than they were before President Biden took office. When he made his first withdrawal from the SPR last November, the average price for a gallon of gasoline was about 40% higher than the day he took office. While the left cheered a measly 2-cent drop in prices at the time, the dip didn’t last long, and prices began climbing rapidly in January. Republicans called out the president’s ineffectual gimmick, and a group of senators introduced legislation to ban drawdowns from the SPR unless there is a severe energy supply interruption and until the Interior Department provides a plan to bolster oil and gas production on federal lands and waters.

This spring, as prices continued to spike, Democrats kept up their anti-American energy crusade. In April, the Interior Department announced it would raise royalty rates for onshore leases and cut acreage available for leasing by 80%; and in May, the department canceled offshore lease sales. Meanwhile, President Biden continued to deplete the SPR. In March, he announced the release of one million barrels per day through September, the largest release in the reserve’s history.

It wasn’t until late June that gasoline prices finally began to dip, and, predictably, the administration is trying to credit the SPR releases for the “lower” prices. Industry analysts immediately refuted this attribution. High prices have squeezed demand by forcing people to consume as little as possible, and shrinking demand naturally lowers prices. Prices remain about 70% higher than they were when President Biden took office, but the left is moving full speed ahead with its radical energy agenda full of bad ideas. Senate Democrats recently jammed through a partisan reckless tax and spend spree, which increases costs for domestic energy producers and raises taxes. Democrats blocked a number of commonsense amendments intended to shield consumers by bolstering energy production.

If President Biden and Democrats in Congress are really concerned about the gas prices that are crushing American families, they should end their assault on domestic energy producers and embrace policies that expand the production of affordable and reliable energy, rather than raiding America’s emergency reserves to hide the problem.