|
|
|
|
|
President
Joe
Biden
calls
for a
federal
gas tax
holiday
as he
speaks
about
gas
prices
during
remarks
in the
Eisenhower
Executive
Office
Building's
South
Court
Auditorium
at the
White
House in
Washington,
U.S.,
June 22,
2022.
REUTERS/Kevin
Lamarque |
|
Biden to
lay out
plan to
complete
emergency
oil
sales,
support
US
production
WASHINGTON,
Oct 18
(Reuters)
- U.S.
President
Joe
Biden
will
announce
a plan
on
Wednesday
to sell
off the
last
portion
of his
release
from the
nation's
emergency
oil
reserve
by
year's
end, and
detail a
strategy
to
refill
the
stockpile
when
prices
drop, a
senior
administration
official
said.
The plan
is
intended
to add
enough
supply
to
prevent
oil
price
spikes
that
could
hurt
consumers
and
businesses,
while
also
assuring
the
nation's
drillers
the
government
will
swoop
into the
market
as a
buyer if
prices
plunge
too low.
Biden's
efforts
to use
federal
powers
to
balance
the U.S.
oil
market
underscores
just how
much the
conflict
in
Ukraine
and
rampant
inflation
has
reshaped
a
president
who came
into
office
vowing
to undo
the oil
industry
and move
the
country
swiftly
to a
fossil-fuel
free
future.
It also
shows
the
administration
desire
to keep
inflation
in check
ahead of
the
mid-term
election
in
November,
in which
Biden's
fellow
Democrats
hope to
retain
control
of
Congress.
Earlier
this
year,
Biden
decided
to sell
180
million
barrels
out of
the
Strategic
Petroleum
Reserve
to
combat a
potential
supply
crisis
brought
about by
sanctions
on
oil-rich
Russia
following
its
invasion
of
Ukraine.
While
the
initial
plan was
to end
those
sales in
November,
purchases
were
slower
than
expected
over the
summer
and some
15
million
barrels
remain
unsold.
Those
will be
put up
for
bidding
for
delivery
in
December,
the
senior
administration
official
said,
and
extra
oil
could
also be
made
available
if
needed.
"If the
conditions
require,
then
we'll be
prepared,"
the
senior
administration
official
said.
Biden
will
also lay
out a
plan to
refill
the
emergency
reserve
in the
upcoming
years,
but only
at
prices
at or
below a
range of
$67 to
$72
dollars
a barrel
for West
Texas
Intermediate,
the U.S.
oil
benchmark,
the
official
said.
Biden's
hope is
to send
a signal
to both
consumer
and
producers.
"He is
calling
on the
private
sector
in the
United
States
to do
two
things.
One is
take
this
signal
and
increase
production,
increase
the
investment,
and
number
two is
to make
sure
that as
they are
taking
these
profits,
as they
are
benefiting
from
these
markets,
that
they are
continuing
to give
the
consumer
the
appropriate
price,"
the
official
said.
In
recent
weeks,
the oil
industry
has
grown
increasingly
concerned
the
administration
might
take the
drastic
step of
banning
or
limiting
exports
of
gasoline
or
diesel
to help
build
back
sagging
U.S.
inventories.
They
have
called
on the
administration
to take
the
option
off the
table, a
move
officials
are
unwilling
to do.
"We are
keeping
all
tools on
the
table,
you
know,
anything
that
could
potentially
help
ensure
stable
domestic
supply,"
the
official
said.
Reporting
by
Jarrett
Renshaw
and
Steve
Holland;
Editing
by
Sandra
Maler
and
Lincoln
Feast.
Our
Standards:
The
Thomson
Reuters
Trust
Principles.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|