Biden Unable To Refill Depleted US Strategic Petroleum Reserve

It was just last year when President Joe Biden decided to mortgage the country’s energy security to manipulate voters before the midterm elections. The Democrat authorized the release of millions of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to bring prices at the pump down.

That in turn would help his party in November.

Now the nation sits on its lowest total strategic reserves in 40 years in a shockingly unstable world. And our Saudi Arabian “friends” are doing everything they can to keep prices high. 

Never forget that former President Donald Trump requested that Congress provide funding to top off the SPR in 2020. That was during the height of the pandemic when oil prices cratered to about $24 per barrel.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) rejected the chance to do the right thing almost certainly due to the initiative coming from the Trump White House. Now Americans are paying the price. 

And what did Biden do as the nation sank into lockdowns and runaway inflation? He released so much oil from the SPR that the levels are now half of what they should be. And the Energy Department just announced the reserves will stay at historical lows.

The administration made overtures to the Saudis to purchase 6 million barrels for the SPR. But the Kingdom did what it regularly does with this president in the Oval Office — it again cut the nation’s output.

This already led to higher oil prices, and the Energy Department announced that the offer to replenish the reserves is off the table. 

For anyone keeping score, Biden released a staggering 180 million barrels of oil last year in the leadup to the midterm elections. Thus far, the Energy Department has bought back six million barrels for the SPR. 

An agency spokesperson said the move to cancel another purchase was motivated by “market conditions.” Of course, those conditions were put in place by the Saudis yet again showing Washington who is in charge of this country’s energy needs.

And there is no end in sight for gas prices that once again are surging. Saudi Arabia’s cuts are already in place on top of more cuts from OPEC+ members announced in April. 

The Biden administration previously said it wants to replenish the SPR when oil prices settle at $67 to $72 per barrel. That target just moved further into the future.