Biden authorizes release of 1 mn barrels of oil per day from US strategic reserve for six months
Apr 01, 2022
Washington [US], April 1 : In order to keep oil prices under control, US President Joe Biden on Thursday (local time) announced to release of one million barrels of oil per day from the country's strategic petroleum reserve for the next six months.
The US, EU and other nations barred imports of Russian oil and gas over the country's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
"Today, I'm authorizing the release of 1 million barrels per day for the next six months -over 180 million barrels -for the Strategic -from the -from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve," Biden announced.
"This is a wartime bridge to increase oil supply until production ramps up later this year. And it is by far the largest release from our national reserve in our history," he added.
He continued saying, "we'll use the revenue from selling the oil now to restock the Strategic Petroleum Reserve when prices are lower so we'll be ready -- we'll be ready for future emergencies."
Biden said he has been coordinating with its allies and partners around the world.
"Already, I have - we have commitments from other countries to release tens of millions of additional barrels into the market. Together, our combined efforts will supply well over a million barrels a day -- nations coming together to deny Putin the ability to weaponize his energy resources against American families, and families and democracies around the world," he said.
Biden said that his plan is about "declaring real American energy independence in the long term so that we never have to deal with this problem again."
"Ultimately, we and the whole world need to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels altogether. We need to choose long-term security over energy and climate vulnerability. We need to double down on our commitment to clean energy and tackling the climate crisis with our partners and allies around the world," he said.
US President stated that he is issuing a directive to strengthen clean energy economy. " I'm going to use the Defense Production Act to secure American supply chains for the critical materials that go into batteries for electric vehicles and the storage of renewable energy: lithium, graphite, nickel, and so much more," he said.
Biden further said, "We need to end our long-term reliance on China and other countries for inputs that will power the future. And I'll use every tool I have to make that happen."
