In November 2021, President Joe Biden proudly announced an order to release millions of barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
“Today’s announcement reflects the President’s commitment to do everything in his power to bring down costs for the American people and continue our strong economic recovery. At the same time, the Administration remains committed to the President’s ambitious clean energy goals,” the White House released in a statement at the time.
“He’s used the biggest tool at his disposal, which is our Strategic Petroleum Reserve, releasing a million barrels per day to try to stabilize supply,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm touted in July.
The SPR is an emergency reserve typically tapped during natural disasters, times of war and limited extraordinary circumstances. Biden started its depletion for political purposes in an attempt to lower gas prices — ahead of a midterm election — while continuing to handcuff oil producers.
The use of the reserve hasn’t worked to significantly gas lower prices and with continuing daily releases, SPR levels are getting alarmingly low.