It Could Take ‘Decades’ to Refill America’s Oil Reserves Drained by Biden, Experts Say

It may take decades to refill the U.S. strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) after President Joe Biden released unprecedented amounts from its supply in 2022, according to Bloomberg News.

Aging infrastructure, higher oil prices and budget constraints have impeded the administration’s efforts to substantially replenish the SPR after Biden tapped its supply to tame spiking energy prices in the lead up to the 2022 midterms, according to Bloomberg. The massive underground salt caverns that hold the SPR oil now sit half-empty with no easy route to replenishment, and experts say it could take decades to refill the reserves, according to Bloomberg.

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Critics Raise Concerns About Strategic Petroleum Reserves’ Decline

Lawmakers are raising concerns that the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which President Joe Biden has relied on heavily since taking office, is getting dangerously low.

Gas prices hit record highs last summer, surpassing $5 per gallon nationally. To curb rising prices, Biden released more than 200 million barrels from the U.S. stockpile, bringing the reserves to the lowest point since 1984.

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White House to Go on Offensive Against GOP as Gas Prices Drop

The average price for a gallon of gas has fallen below what it was one year ago, and the White House is preparing to go on the offense politically as consumers see more money in their pockets ahead of the holidays. The administration argument? Thank President Biden.

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Biden to Pay Nearly Three Times More than Trump Would Have Paid to Refill Strategic Oil Reserves

President Joe Biden will buy oil to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) at a price that is nearly three times higher than the price the Trump administration would have paid.

Biden’s Energy Department (DOE) aims to buy back crude oil at a price of $67 to $72 per barrel after selling 15 million barrels in December to complete the largest series of SPR releases in the nation’s history, according to a White House fact sheet. Former President Donald Trump proposed in March 2020 to refill the strategic reserves at a price of $24.49 per barrel; however, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer helped block the proposal, calling it a “bailout for big oil.”

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Report: Biden Admin to Further Drain Strategic Oil Reserves Before Midterms

The Biden administration will announce the sale of 14 million crude oil barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) this week, set to lower gas prices before the November midterm elections, according to Reuters.

The administration will direct the Energy Department (DOE) to auction the remaining 14 million barrels after President Joe Biden authorized the sale of 180 million barrels of oil in March to bring down gas prices, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the situation. The White House is desperate to lower the price of gasoline due to concern that high prices could weaken the Democrats’ chances of winning key congressional and gubernatorial races on Nov. 8.

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Commentary: Electric Vehicles Are a Tool of Tyranny

First, don’t blame the vehicle. It is a tool that might be just what Los Angeles needs to cope with inversions. Electric vehicles are also very good as airport shuttles and for other locations where short, repetitive routes are the primary use. Some may even be fun to drive (except when they catch on fire).

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Biden Copies Trump Proposal to Refill Oil Reserves – and Spends Way More Doing It

The Biden administration announced plans Thursday to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) two years after Democrats blocked the Trump administration’s similar, but cheaper proposal.

The Department of Energy (DOE) said it would initiate a long-term SPR replenishment plan involving a purchase of 60 million barrels of oil that would likely occur in 2023, according to the announcement. President Joe Biden has ordered a 50-million-barrel SPR release in November, a 30-million-barrel release on March 1 and a 180-million-barrel release on March 31 to combat rising gasoline prices.

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Economists Expect Elevated Inflation as Projected U.S. GDP Plummets

Economists across the U.S. expect ongoing inflation as the growth projections for the U.S. economy have plummeted, according to a newly released survey.

The National Association for Business Economics released a survey of 234 economic experts Monday that highlights major concerns about the U.S. economy. The report found inflation ranks as a top worry for economists.

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Oil Hits 11-Year High as Big Oil Dumps Russia, White House Mulls Energy Sanctions

The price of crude oil touched its highest level in nearly 11 years on Wednesday amid the ongoing Ukraine crisis which has roiled energy markets.

The WTI index, the U.S. benchmark index, surged to $112.09 per barrel, its highest level since May 2011, early Wednesday before receding near $108 per barrel, marketplace data showed. The global Brent crude benchmark approached $114 per barrel then dropped below $111 a barrel.

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Department of Energy to Release Millions of Barrels of Oil From Reserve to Combat Surging Gas Prices

The Department of Energy (DOE) announced Tuesday the release of millions of barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to combat soaring gas prices.

The DOE approved the release of 13.4 million barrels from its SPR, marking the second-largest exchange from the reserve and bringing the total amount of oil released from the cache to almost 40 million barrels.

Exchange contracts for the released oil have were awarded to seven companies. President Joe Biden authorized a plan in November 2021 to release 50 million barrels of crude oil from the SPR in a coordinated effort with China, India, Japan, South Korea and the U.K. to combat surging gas prices and assist in the COVID-19 pandemic recovery.

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Gas Prices Set to Surge Again, Industry Analysis Shows

The price of gasoline is set to increase to $4 per gallon or more within five months, according to an industry analysis released Tuesday.

The gas price surge is forecasted to take place by Memorial Day in late May, according to the report from GasBuddy, an app that tracks pump prices, and shared with CNN. But the analysis said the average cost of gasoline at pumps nationwide would then fall throughout the summer and fall of 2022, declining below current prices.

“We could see a national average that flirts with, or in a worst-case scenario, potentially exceeds $4 a gallon,” Patrick De Haan, the director of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, told CNN.

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Anti-Fossil Fuel Activists Support Biden’s Move to Release Oil from Reserves

Environmentalists voiced support for President Joe Biden’s decision to tap into the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) despite their firm opposition to fossil fuels.

“The Biden admin is taking effective action to protect Americans from oil price gouging. This is what reserves are for — defending our economy against disruption,” Democratic Sen. Ed Markey, a climate hawk and Green New Deal proponent, tweeted Tuesday. “Profiteering can’t go unanswered, especially as Big Oil makes billions and fuels the climate crisis through exports.”

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