President Biden authorized the Department of Energy on Tuesday to release 30 million barrels from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve as part of a global effort to mitigate supply shocks from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The decision is part of a broader effort by the International Energy Agency member states to collectively release an initial 60 million barrels of crude oil from their respective reserves.
“Today’s announcement is another example of partners around the world condemning Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine and working together to address the impact of President Putin’s war of choice,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. “President Biden was clear from the beginning that all tools are on the table to protect American businesses and consumers, including from rising prices at the pump.”
Ms. Psaki said the member states will monitor markets and consider future releases.
“We are prepared to use every tool available to us to limit disruption to global energy supply as a result of President Putin’s actions,” she said. “We will also continue our efforts to accelerate diversification of energy supplies away from Russia and to secure the world from Moscow’s weaponization of oil and gas.”
For days, Republicans have urged Mr. Biden to tap into domestic production to help wean the world off Russian fuel, including new drilling on federal lands and the resumption of the Keystone XL Pipeline.
