(Fox Business) The Biden administration is planning to release another 10 million to 15 million barrels of oil from the nation’s emergency stockpile in an effort to balance markets and prevent additional increases in gasoline prices.
The release of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve would be the latest portion of a 180-million-barrel program that started earlier this year, Bloomberg reported.
The administration is also expected to provide details this week regarding its plans to restock the emergency oil stockpile. The Energy Department announced in the spring it was planning a new method of buybacks to permit a “competitive, fixed-price” bid process that would potentially lock prices in prior to crude being delivered.
Temporary limits on exports of fuel so more gasoline and diesel will remain in the U.S. is also being considered by the administration. No timeline has been set for a decision on that step, but it will likely not happen before next month’s midterm elections.
According to data first compiled in 1982, the U.S. has the lowest seasonal inventories of diesel.
The suggestion to limit exports has led to disagreements within the administration.Biden energy adviser Amos Hochstein supports new export controls while Deputy Energy Secretary David Turk has outlined concerns.