Biden will release an additional 15 million barrels of oil from his strategic reserve

MADRID, 19 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The President of the United States, Joe Biden, has announced that the Department of Energy will release this Wednesday 15 million barrels from the country's Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) with the aim of being delivered in December.

Biden has directed his administration to take these steps to strengthen energy security, address supply shortages and reduce costs, the White House said in a statement.

"President Biden is committed to doing everything in his power to respond to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's price increase at the pumps," says the letter, which points out that global oil supply flows are a challenge for Russian actions.

Washington will deliver these additional barrels in December, so that this sale "will complete the historic reduction of 180 million barrels that the president announced."

These policies, the Biden Administration reports, are helping "stabilize the energy market and reduce pump prices."

Likewise, the US president has notified the Department of Energy to prepare additional sales for the winter, in the event that they are necessary "due to Russian actions, among others, that disturb global markets."

In addition, the United States intends to buy crude oil when prices are below 67-72 dollars a barrel, while the aforementioned department will propose fixed-price contracts through bidding processes, it has detailed.

"This approach (...) will help create certainty about the future demand for crude oil," the White House has indicated, in such a way that these policies would help improve the energy security of the North American country.

On the other hand, the president has criticized the "huge profits" obtained by companies in this sector, which have increased the average price of a barrel of crude oil, while their profits are "double what they usually are at this time of year." year," the Biden Administration has criticized.

"Keeping prices high even when costs fall is unacceptable," the presidential office criticized, before asking oil companies to transfer their savings to consumers.

After the invasion of Russian troops in Ukraine, Biden authorized the largest release of the SPR, while generating "historic coordination" with allies to take similar measures. US fuel prices have since fallen by more than a dollar a barrel.