Reduced oil supplies, resulting from the war in Ukraine, are contributing to an increase in oil and gas prices.
In response, on March 31, President Biden announced the largest release of oil reserves in U.S. history, adding one million additional barrels on the market per day on average – every day – for the next six months, the White House said.
The scale of this release is unprecedented: the world has never had a release of oil reserves at a one million bbls. per day rate for this length of time. This record release will provide a historic amount of supply to serve as bridge until the end of the year when domestic production ramps up.
The Department of Energy will use the revenue from the release to restock the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in future years. This will provide a signal of future demand and help encourage domestic production today, and will ensure the continued readiness of the SPR to respond to future emergencies, the White Hose said.
President Biden is coordinating this action with allies and partners around the world, and other countries are expected to join in this action, bringing the total release to well over an average one million bpd.
