Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register WASHINGTON, March 30 (Reuters) – The Biden administration is considering releasing up to 180 million barrels of oil in several months from the Strategic Oil Reserve (SPR), four US sources said on Wednesday as the White House sought to lower prices. fuel. The move will mark the third time the United States has exploited its strategic reserves in the last six months and will be the largest release in the SPR’s nearly 50-year history. So far, the publications have not been able to reduce prices, as global demand has reached almost pre-pandemic levels, while supply has been declining worldwide. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Oil prices have risen since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, and the United States and its allies have responded with severe sanctions to Russia, the world’s second-largest exporter of crude oil. Brent crude, the world benchmark, jumped to about $ 139 earlier this month, higher than 2008, and was close to $ 110 a barrel in Asian trade on Thursday. President Joe Biden will make remarks on Thursday about the actions of his government, the White House announced. Russia is one of the world’s leading oil producers, accounting for about 10% of the world market. However, sanctions and buyers’ reluctance to buy Russian oil could remove about 3 million barrels per day (bpd) of Russian oil from the market since April, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said. Russia exports 4 to 5 million bpd. The news comes shortly before the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, a group of oil producers known as OPEC + that includes Saudi Arabia and Russia, meet to discuss reducing supply constraints. The United States, Britain and others have in the past urged OPEC + to boost production quickly. However, OPEC + is not expected to deviate from its plan to continue to gradually boost production at its meeting on Thursday. read more The US SPR currently holds 568.3 million barrels, the lowest level since May 2002, according to the US Department of Energy. The United States is considered a net exporter of oil by the IOC. But that status could change to a net importer this year and then return to the exporter as production is slow to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. It was not immediately clear whether a withdrawal of 180 million barrels would consist of exchanges from the stock that would have to be replaced by oil companies at a later date, final sales or a combination of the two. The White House did not comment on the plan. US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said last week while on a trip to Europe that the United States and its IOC allies were discussing a further coordinated release from storage. read more The IOC has convened an emergency meeting on Friday to discuss oil supplies, said a spokesman for Australian Energy Minister Angus Taylor. read more IOC member states agreed earlier in March to release more than 60 million barrels of oil reserves, with 30 million barrels coming from the US SPR. US crude futures fell $ 4.70 to $ 103.12 a barrel and Brent futures fell $ 4.45, or 3.9%, to $ 109 a barrel, according to the news release. possible traffic. The White House said Biden would comment at 1:30 p.m. ET (1730 GMT) on “his government’s actions to reduce the impact of Putin’s price increases on energy prices and lower gas pump prices for American households.” He did not give additional details. High gas prices are a political responsibility for Biden and his Democratic Party as they seek to maintain control of Congress in the November election. The Biden administration is considering temporarily lifting restrictions on summer sales of ethanol-containing gasoline blends as a way to reduce fuel costs for U.S. consumers, three knowledgeable sources told Reuters. read more Adding more ethanol to gasoline blends could potentially lower prices on U.S. gas pumps because corn, which is made from corn, is currently cheaper than regular gasoline. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Eric Beech, Jarrett Renshaw, Steve Holland and Timothy Gardner. Editing by Grant McCool and Himani Sarkar Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
