Peach Tree Times

On March 31, President Biden announced the release of up to 180 million barrels of crude oil from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) over a 6 month period, in his effort to curb high gas prices.

The SPR usually keeps around 700 million barrels of crude oil in the case of unstable market supply or international emergencies, the SPR webpage states it is the world's largest supply and the “sheer size” makes it a deterrent against oil cutoffs.

In an op-ed for Forbes, senior contributor Robert Rapier calls Biden’s decision to tap into the SPR a “gamble,” stating he must hope the U.S. does not encounter a foreign oil supply crisis, which the SPR was created to address. At its highest in 2010, the SPR reached 726.6 million barrels. It is now below 450 million barrels, the lowest in almost 40 years. In the past, the US has become more reliant on its own oil production, such as in 2021, when the US was a net exporter of crude oil, which some suggest makes the SPR is not as needed.

“But even though the Biden Administration wants to address rising carbon emissions, high gasoline prices cause incumbents to lose elections. So, they try to tame gasoline prices even though it contradicts one of their key objectives of reducing carbon emissions,” Rapier wrote the Forbes op-ed.

As of April 1, the SPR held 564.58 million barrels of oil in stock. As of Sep. 23, the SPR inventory stood at 422.58 million barrels of oil, a decrease of 142 million barrels since Biden's initial release.

Among statements, Rapier argues that historically, Democrats have reduced the SPR far more than Republicans. Both President Clinton and Obama depleted the SPR to reduce high gas prices during election years. Some note the SPR is unnecessary due to America's energy security, but Rapier accuses Biden of using the SPR to help his party win in 2022.

As Biden announced he will refill the SPR, Rapier predicts it will happen after the 2024 elections.

This comes as Biden’s executive order on federal oil and gas leases was released on Jan. 27, 2021, citing the “climate crisis” as the main reason for the moratorium.

“It is the policy of my Administration that climate considerations shall be an essential element of United States foreign policy and national security,” Biden said, according to whitehouse.gov.

The order lays out ways the Administration will prioritize the climate crisis including “(pausing) new oil and natural gas leases on public lands or in offshore waters pending completion of a comprehensive review.”

Rapier sees Biden’s move to drain the SPR as contradicting his plan to reduce carbon emissions and combat the climate crisis.

“An administration that has frequently emphasized the importance of reducing carbon emissions is trying to increase oil supplies to bring down rising oil prices — which will, in turn, help keep demand (and carbon emissions) high,” Rapier wrote.

The latest Gasoline Misery Index, which tracks how much more (or less) the average American consumer will have to spend on gasoline on an annualized basis, reports that the average American is spending around $319 more on gas this year when compared to the same time a year ago. Georgians are spending around $137 more on gas this year when compared to the same time a year ago.

Although gas prices have gone down in the last few months, the American Automobile Association (AAA) announced the national average is rising as the supply becomes more limited and demand increases. The AAA notes drivers should prepare for higher prices returning, due to limited distribution during Hurricane Ian and increasing crude oil prices.