<mediadc-video-embed data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1664916835924,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"00000162-07af-d172-a563-4fefeeac0001","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1664916835924,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"00000162-07af-d172-a563-4fefeeac0001","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"rawHtml":"
var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_64898686", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"1110826"} }); ","_id":"00000183-a4c6-d670-a1b3-a5f7c7360000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video EmbedThe White House said Tuesday it is not considering further releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve after its current program ends, despite renewed concerns that energy costs will spike again on the news of the expected OPEC+ oil production cuts.
In March, President Joe Biden ordered the release of 180 million barrels of oil from the nation’s emergency stockpile, the largest-ever single release ordered by a U.S. president, as his administration sought to tamp soaring energy costs for U.S. consumers amid Russia’s war in Ukraine.
DAILY ON ENERGY: OPEC+ PRODUCTION CUT THREATENS BIDEN’S PRE-MIDTERM PLANS
Since March, the administration has released more than 155 million barrels of crude from the emergency stockpile, with contracts set to deliver another 10 million barrels by Nov. 30.
The releases are thought to have helped drive retail gasoline prices to $3.08, down from their record high of more than $5 a gallon in June. Now, though, prices could climb again as the world’s biggest oil producers plan to cut production.
Asked at a press briefing on Tuesday whether Biden would release more oil from the emergency stockpile, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the administration is not considering doing so.
“We’re not going to be considering any more releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve beyond the 180 million [Biden ordered],” she said.
The cuts OPEC+ is considering would seek to correct for market weakness following four straight months of falling oil prices.
But they would also be the largest cuts since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, threatening another price surge due to heightened global demand.
The cuts also come at a politically perilous time for Biden and Democrats in Congress ahead of the November midterm elections. Biden’s approval ratings as president have been closely tied to gas prices. In June, when gas costs soared to their highest-ever point of more than $5 a gallon, Biden’s approval rate subsequently plummeted to its lowest-ever point, bottoming out at just 31%, according to a Quinnipiac University poll.
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When pain at the pump alleviated, his approval ratings began trending up once again, climbing by 9 percentage points in the most recent Quinnipiac survey.
