White House Planning Oil Reserve Release Announcement This Week

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve release would be the latest tranche of a 180-million-barrel program that began in the spring.

The Biden administration also is set this week to provide details on plans to replenish the emergency stockpile. The Energy Department announced in May it was planning a new method of buybacks to allow for a “competitive, fixed-price bid process,” with prices potentially locked in well before crude is delivered.

Separately, the administration is still weighing limits on exports of fuel to keep more gasoline and diesel inside the US, according to two of the people, who were not authorized to speak publicly about internal deliberations. Although no timeline has been set yet for a decision on that potentially more dramatic step, it won’t happen before November’s midterm elections, one of the people said.

Heading into winter, the US has the lowest seasonal inventories of diesel according to data first compiled in 1982.

The export control idea, which would be temporary, has sparked division within the administration, as top Biden energy adviser Amos Hochstein argues in favor of new export controls even as Deputy Energy Secretary David Turk has expressed concerns, said people familiar with the matter. Other White House officials, including National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Chief of Staff Ron Klain haven’t made a recommendation yet.

Energy Department and White House officials have been quietly meeting this week with oil companies, including Exxon Mobil Corp. and ConocoPhillips, to notify them of what to expect and to ask them to encourage production of gasoline and diesel.

Oil industry representatives and third-party energy analysts have cautioned that limiting fuel exports could lead to higher prices in parts of the US, particularly in the import-reliant Northeast.

Spokespeople for the White House didn’t immediately comment. The Energy Department referred to a previous comment from earlier this month, that the administration was going to look at all tools available to protect Americans and uphold commitments to allies.

The White House has been seeking to ease rising costs at the pump and bolster low domestic stockpiles of fuel for the winter while also responding to the OPEC+ coalition’s decision earlier this month to slash production.

Gasoline prices, one of the most visible signs of inflation, have been top of mind for President Joe Biden, who in recent weeks has repeatedly warned oil companies against raising costs.

“The price of gas is still too high and we need to keep working to bring it down,” Biden said at an event in Los Angeles last week.